


Hurricane

by DarkKyberKrystal66



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alpha Ben Solo, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempted Murder, Attempted Sexual Assault, Badass Rey, Break Up, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, First Order is a Crime Syndicate, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Force Visions, Freeform, Good Friend Armitage Hux, Guardian Angels, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Kind of the Force, Kylo Ren Redemption, Kylo is her partner, Nyx - Freeform, Nyx Goddess of the Night, Organized Crime, Possessive Ben Solo, Protective Kylo Ren, Reconciliation, Reconciliation Sex, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Reveal, Revenge, Rey is a vigilante, Reylo - Freeform, Reylo AU Week, Reylo Modern AU, Rocker Rey, Seattle, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Snoke Being a Dick, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, That's Not How The Force Works, Time Skips, Trainer Phasma, Vigilante, Witness Protection, You all know you would love Ben Solo on a motorcycle, a different type of the force, angel kylo, reylo au, vigilantes, why am i like this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:15:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 41,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21823537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkKyberKrystal66/pseuds/DarkKyberKrystal66
Summary: Tell me would you kill to save for a life?Tell me would you kill to prove you're right?Modern AU. Rey works in Seattle at a record company and is finally starting to make a name for herself. Until she sees something that she shouldn't. The police have been waiting for another witness so they can try to finally nail the notorious crime boss, Snoke.Before the case goes to trial, Rey is assigned to check out a band her label wants to sign. Walking home late, Snoke's goons try to take Rey out so she can't testify. Their plans would have been successful if not for a dark, cloaked figure. Kylo Ren.As always, I don't own anything SW related - just for fun. Warnings of attempted sexual assualt and violence. If you might be triggered, this isn't the fic you're looking for.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 3
Kudos: 56





	1. Tell me would you kill to save a life?

It was late by the time Rey left the bar. Far too late to be out by herself at night, but she trudged on- it wasn’t that far to her apartment. As she walked, the streets became silent and peaceful. The rain had let up and the moonlight shone off the blacktopped streets.  
‘I know I shouldn’t be out alone, especially after Detective Ackbar made me promise not to be alone anywhere at any time… but it’s not far from my place and it’s the middle of the night. No one is even out here.’ Rey thought. As she walked on, there was something calming about the quiet city streets. It was times like this when she was truly happy that she lived in Seattle now and forgave it for it’s wet weather nonsense.

  
Just then everything went white.

  
Rey could see nothing but bright white light as she fell to the ground. She had been struck on the back of head and was losing all her senses. A tall slim man, dressed all in black drug her into the alley way where two more men, quite larger and heavier appeared from the depths of the dark. Rey tried to focus her eyes and could see the three figures in hooded sweatshirts bearing down on her. Somewhere down the alley there was a dim street lamp, so her eyes could see a bit, but only just a bit. The faint light source casted odd shadows and created blind spots, which made it all the more difficult to get her bearings. What she did know, was that she was down on the rough pavement and her clothes were getting soaked from the fresh rain water that collected in puddles on the ground. She raised her hand up to shield her eyes and spoke.

  
“What do you want?” she bellowed.

  
“Stupid, bitch!” The figure screamed as he kicked Rey in the stomach. “You think you can get him thrown in jail? Your stupid ass isn’t making it to the goddamn trial!”

  
The other two figures joined in kicking Rey over and over. Shouting and taunting her, they reveled in telling her she wouldn’t be living to see the morning. She tried to scream, but she couldn’t make a sound. Her body just wouldn’t work for her. Rey could feel her nervous system shutting everything down and she felt almost frozen in place. Her insides roared in pain as the thick boots pummeled her relentlessly. One of the bigger men wrapped his arms underneath Rey and pulled her up to her feet.

  
“Stand this bitch up!” the second man giggled. They took turns slapping her, punching her anywhere they could. She was losing all sense of awareness and didn’t know how much more of this she would be able to take. Blood began flowing from her nose and mouth and even though things seemed to move in slow motion, she felt as though it was almost happening too fast for her to react.  
‘This is it. This just might be how I die… all for what?’ she thought. ‘For being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Again.’ She scolded herself.  
Rey looked at the two men in front of her. Ski masks obscured most of their faces, but she could still see their eyes and their pale skin poking out around the eye openings.

  
“This bitch is kinda hot… maybe we should give her one last thrill before she dies...” the man mused. He pulled a long, serrated knife from the pocket of his hoodie and twirled it around in front of Rey’s terror filled eyes. “You fight and I will kill you right now and make it even more painful. Take off her jacket.” He barked as he began reaching to unhook his belt. The man holding Rey held her with one hand and in one seamless motion, slid her jacket off her back and onto the ground.

  
“Nah, come on man! We ain’t time for your perverted bullshit. Let’s just kill her and get out of here.” The second man grumbled.

  
“Man, shut the hell up… no one asked your stupid ass.”

  
“Guys, I’m not holding her up here forever.” The third man interjected. Tired of waiting, he promptly threw Rey into the alley way wall. Against the wall stood an old, cracked window and under Rey’s weight it immediately shattered. Glass cascaded down over her, gnashing at her skin and opening up wounds all over her face and body. She fell to the ground in a heap, but amidst their arguing, the men barely seemed to notice or care what happened to her. Rey rolled onto her back when she fell but felt herself choking. She tried to roll over so she could spit out the blood in her mouth but she couldn’t get her body to cooperate with her.  
“Look, we gotta kill her and get back or Snoke isn’t going to be happy with us. He’ll blame me for you two acting like dicks and I ain’t getting in trouble again. You should have just shot her as soon as you saw her! Instead you wanna play around. Let’s just do this and get out.”

  
“Fine!” Hoodie Number One screeched as he bent over Rey and drew his knife lightly across her midsection. Rey found her voice and was able to let out a scream. The cut wasn’t too deep, but blood began to seep out. She struggled and tried to swat at his face.

  
“Damn it you two! Hold her the hell down! You bitch, just for that…” he began to swipe at her arms as she tried to fend him off. The other two hooded men grabbed her arms and slammed them down into the pavement, breaking her right hand. The hooded figure directly above her tossed his knife to the ground while the other two men held her arms down. The figure grabbed the middle of shirt and tore. The buttons of her shirt broke and her button down blouse which she wore to look professional on her big night was torn away and her bra was exposed. As if time had slowed down, Rey could hear the delicate buttons scatter onto the pavement beside her, tinkling as they rolled away.

  
“Please stop it! No!” Rey pleaded as blood cascaded out of her mouth and down her chin.

  
“White lace. Fucking hot. Are you a virgin, bitch?” The men laughed and the man hovering directly in front of her midsection opened his mouth and traced his tongue across her breasts. “Mm.. yeah you like that don’t you? I’m going to fuck you to death.” He hissed.

  
Hoodie Number Two not liking what was happening just had to interject. “Can’t they get DNA? From her…”  
“What are you talking about?” Hoodie One asked as he tore down Rey’s pants.  
“I watch them shows on TV. They can get your DNA off her... and like find you… maybe we shouldn’t…” he trailed off.  
“Maybe we shouldn’t, maybe we shouldn’t! I watched this show and now I’m like a cop.” Hoodie Number One teased. “Just shut up, man! I’m getting something out of this!”  
“Dude, were already getting paid! You are getting something out of this!”

  
Rey knew she had to do something and if she died, it would be on her own terms. She built up every ounce of strength she had while the deathly trio argued and spit all of the blood in her mouth directly into Hoodie Number One’s eyes. He recoiled and screamed.

  
“Son of a bitch!” he shrieked and backhanded Rey across the face and everything went black for a moment. As Rey tried to regain her sight, she sensed something was going on, but couldn’t tell what.

  
The three hooded men in the darkness turned out to not be the only force in the night. Just as Hoodie Number Three began to cackle at the latest assault on Rey, Hoodie Number 2 turned to watch a knife enter through Hoodie Number three’s chin. Before Hoodie Number 2 could even process what had happened, a pair of hands fastened around his neck and snapped. Hoodie Number One, seeing what had just happened to his comrades, struggled to get up to his feet. A figure stepped out of the shadows and stood to face Hoodie Number One head on.

  
“Ready to try that on someone who can fight back?” He asked coolly, his dark, sinister voice moved like smoke through the night air.  
Towering over the remaining thug, the Stranger clad in black, stood with his fists balled up at his sides. Sturdy, wide shouldered and looking for a fight, it was clear that this was not just some good Samaritan or passerby.

  
This was a hunter. A warrior.

  
The dim light spun a haunting glow against the razor sharp lines of his face, while his dark eyes peered out from a black cloak; he was a lethal predator ready to strike. An audible growl escaped from the Strangers lips, causing the thug to step back.

  
“Who the fuck are you? This ain’t your business!” Hoodie Number One screeched as he charged the Stranger and the two began fighting. Rey could hear a commotion and slowly her senses began to return. She could hear shuffling, grunting, fighting- perhaps? Trying to will her eyes to work, all she could make out was a light somewhere above her. The street light felt like it was blinding her when she knew for sure it wasn’t all that bright. As she stared and blinked, she could eventually make out the silhouettes of two figures fighting around her. As hard as she tried to focus, she couldn’t make anything definitive out. Dark crimson was steadily flowing from Rey’s torn flesh. Each droplet slowly taking the life out of her, her vision increasingly getting worse as more as more spatters of her blood joined the ruby liquid spattered on the pavement.

  
‘Come on, Rey. Get up.’ She thought trying to steady herself.

  
A sharp intake of breath was followed by a grunt and then nothing but utter and complete silence. The Stranger had plunged a knife into Hoodie Number Ones chest, killing him instantly. Hoodie Number One slunk to the ground and the Stranger stood back up to survey his handy work.

  
Three men dead.

  
Three of his men dead.

  
They would surely be coming after the person responsible for this. He knew exactly whose men these were and he knew why they were after her. He knew they were going to kill her and he couldn’t let that happen. He was sick and tired of corruption running rampant in this town and no one doing anything to stop it. Police, FBI, the DA, it didn’t matter. Everyone was powerless against this force. He strode over to Rey at once, not knowing if she was even alive anymore. He knelt down beside her and felt her pulse. She was alive, thank goodness.

  
Rey could sense someone was there and tried to force her eyes open again. Her eyelids were beginning to swell and were flooded with blood, but she just knew that this man killed the men trying to kill her – so he wouldn’t possibly be after her.

  
Unless he wanted to be the one to claim the bounty on her head.

  
‘No, that can’t be right.’ She thought as an overwhelming sense of security washed over her.

  
“Cher? Mon cher…can you hear me?” The deep voice called. As her weary eyes continued to attempt to focus, she could see the outline of a man over her, illuminated in the alley light. The stranger looked Rey over, assessing her wounds and becoming more and more concerned by the second.  
‘Damn it, I’m dead. I didn’t make it.’ She thought. As she tried to focus her eyes once more, she could finally begin to make out the facial features of the man standing over her.

  
He was beautiful.

  
‘It’s an angel… it’s an angel here for me.’ She assumed. His eyes were sincere, dark and deep and his raven hair was strewn about his face. It was messy, but perfectly messy. Angular features sat on pale, porcelain skin, his lips were plush and full. No man could look that perfect and not be an angel.

  
Rey knew this was it. She stared at him and him at her and she was able to utter a single phrase.  
“You’re my angel.” She smiled, exhaled and began to lose consciousness, her body falling limp and still.  
“Oh no girl, stay with me... stay with me… hold onto my voice. Stay with me.” His deep voice begged.

“Noelle… I just can’t explain right now… can you just... please… help her!”  
“Where did you find her, Kylo?”  
“Just...never mind that can you please help me? Please!” Kylo pleaded as he tried to position Rey on the bed.  
“Kylo, you know I’m just an ER nurse, I don’t have---“  
The look in Kylo’s eyes was something she had never seen before. She knew there was no use in arguing. She had to help him. She had to help her.  
“Ok, okay.. I’ll do my best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspo:
> 
> Hurricane - 30 Seconds to Mars


	2. And what I choose is my choice...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey there my lovelies! So, I realized, in transferring over my story, a whole chapter was skipped. It went right from 1 to 3... and therefore made even less sense than my drabble usually does.
> 
> I can't believe I did that, but here is Chapter 2... and thank you for giving this a shot. It's actually something I wrote before Waiting Game, I wrote Waiting Game, got stuck and have now come back to Hurricane.  
> Title was inspired by the 30 Seconds to Mars song by the same name.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this trope of Kylo as a Guardian Angel of some sort.... and even though Rey was taken down, don't worry... she comes back with a vengeance.

Before she could open her eyes, Rey became aware. It was day time and so bright that she felt a redness burning in front of her eyes. There was a rhythmic beeping--- piercing through the silence. Forcing her eyes open, she tried to focus on an image across the room she was in. The sunlight caused such a glare that she had to concentrate for several moments before her surroundings came into focus. Fifteen feet in front of Rey was a red brick wall and positioned in front of the wall was a chair with a black leather kutte strewn across it. The back of the jacket was facing her and Rey could make out that sewn onto the black material were stark white angel wings.

The Angel.

The alley.

As the images and emotions of what had happened came flooding back to her in bits and pieces, she glanced down and realized he was lying on a bed with an IV in her hand. Her hazel eyes followed the line in her arm, up past her shoulder and into a clear plastic bag hanging above her.

‘Clear liquid? Ok, it’s probably just fluids to get me hydrated.’ She gathered. ‘Stay calm.’

As she continued to remember the attack, her breathing became labored and she felt herself beginning to panic. Images flashed violently before her eyes; appalling, terrifying pictures of what had happened to her. Screwing her eyes shut, she tried to push them from her mind.

  
‘Breathe. Calm down.’ She told herself. ‘If someone wanted to hurt you, they wouldn’t have gone through all of this, right? You’re ok. You’re ok. You’re ok.’  
She decided instead to assess what state her body was currently in and if she could make an escape. Rey’s arm was in some sort of lightweight cast, she noticed bandages all over her arms and she could feel under the bed sheets that her body felt wrapped up and constricted. Did she have a broken rib? Stitches? Rey still felt as though she wasn’t opening her right eye completely. Drawing her hand upwards, she gingerly ran her fingers across the puffy and swollen area.

‘Where am I ... what is happening?’ Rey thought. ‘How ---- this isn’t a hospital.’

Just as her anxiety met it’s apex, she sensed movement behind her and suddenly felt that same wave of calm from the other night wash over her again. She heard footsteps begin and suddenly the Angel was standing in front of her once more.

“You’re awake!” he breathed.

  
“Where am I? What, what happened” Rey asked.

  
“You’re safe. You were attacked in an alley way in Seattle... some men tried to…. hurt you. You were out by yourself.” He seemed relieved as Rey studied his face.

  
“It was you. You stopped them. You’re my angel.” Rey mused.

  
Her Angel blushed and tried to gather himself.

  
“No, no Ma’am.. I ain’t no angel. I was just… in the neighborhood.” He clarified with a nod.  
Rey detected hint of a Southern accent, but it was very diluted and only could be noticed on certain words.

‘Interesting.’ She thought.

“You were just in the neighborhood…. in the middle… of the night?” she asked incredulously.  
“Could say the same about you. What were you doing out by yourself so late?” he shot back.  
“I work at a record label in Seattle called um, Resistance Records. I was um, checking out this band at this bar we were thinking of signing. They just promoted me to A & R and it was my first big assignment. My boss Amilyn asked me to go and see the show and if I liked them, I could sign them. I watched the show, I left and I was walking home.” She recounted. “Oh my gosh, my job.. the…” she trailed off. Rey realized she had no idea what day it was, if she lost her job, if she missed the trial. This was all so strange. How could she be missing chunks of time?

  
“Rey…you..” the Stranger began.

  
“How do you know my name?”

  
“I’m sorry but I had to go through your wallet to see if you had a Red Cross card or something... something with your blood type.” He explained.

  
“My blood type?”

  
“You lost a lot of blood... I was hoping maybe you were a donor and you had a card from the Red Cross with your blood type on it... anything like that, a medical alert card.”

  
“I can’t give blood, I’m anemic.” She quickly corrected. “Wait, how long have I been out?”

“Rey... you’ve been through a lot. You were out for a while.”

  
“How long?” Rey demanded.

  
“Five days.” Her Angel looked down at the floor.

  
The trial. Rey had missed the trial. She was supposed to testify.

  
“Five.” Rey breathed in a mix of shock and disappointment.

  
“Rey, look it’s okay. I know you missed the trial...” he began.

  
_Wait, how did HE know she was the was a witness in a trial?_

  
“I gotta get out of here, I gotta tell the police where I am so they can recall the trial. Re-try it or whatever. Add me back on. They’ll want to hear what happened to me.” Rey shifted around the bed and begun to tug at the IV still in her hand.

  
“Rey, Rey, no. Calm down. You cannot do that. The trial already took place. Who knows if Snoke thinks you are dead or have run away, but you cannot call the police now and let them know where you are. It’ll leak faster than you can imagine.” He warned.

  
“But, I’ve got my job, my life. I’ve got to go back to it. I’m not going to let someone intimidate me and take my life from me. I’ve worked too hard and come too far to build it. You have no idea where I’ve come from and what I’ve been through to get where I am now. I have to fight back.” Rey cried as began to feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

  
Actually, he did know. She just didn’t know it.

  
“If you go back to your life, he will know you are alive and he will keep coming. Until he kills you. Your life as you once knew it is over. I’m sorry, I know you don’t want to hear that. You can’t go back, you can’t. You’ve got no choice but to start over. If you go back, if he finds out you are alive - you best believe he isn’t going to send some low level thugs to take care of it again. He’ll pull out the experts. You won’t stand a chance. You won’t see it coming.” He cautioned, his tone thick with concern.

  
“I don’t even know you... what do you care?” Rey shot back.

  
“I’m sorry. I know this has taken over your life and it’s not fair. If you want my advice... here it is... you have a free pass to start over. So start over.” He retorted forcefully.

Rey knew this wasn’t his fault, but she knew he was right. If Snoke had any kind of idea she was alive, he wouldn’t mess around this time. He would make sure she was dead. She couldn’t believe her situation. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time; saw something she shouldn’t have and now this. That was no reason however to take it out on this man. This beautiful, perfect man who saved her.  
She owed him her life.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just reeling a little bit here. It’s just that I should have never gone to the police in the first place. Should have forgotten what I saw.” She groaned before continuing. “I um, wait- you seem to kind of know what happened. Are you a cop?”

  
“No, ma’am. Not a cop. Just someone who is also tired of what Snoke is doing to this city.” He gritted.

“You know about him?” she asked and he nodded back in response.

  
“Well then, um, should I tell you what happened? What I saw and why the detective and DA Dameron wanted me to testify?” Rey offered as her voice faltered slightly.

  
“No, not now. Don’t get yourself upset. Just know that I at the very least understand.”

  
“I should have never said a word to anyone.” She concluded.

  
“If you would have done that- that would have been like putting your stamp of approval on what you saw and heard. It’s like that age old puzzle right? What’s the lesser of two evils? The people doing the evil or the people who see evil being done and do nothing to stop it? You were trying to do the right thing.” He rationalized.

  
“And look what that got me- almost beaten to death. Although ... there’s pieces of it missing. The attack, I mean. I must have passed out for a time or something.”  
“I’m not going to lie. You are pretty bad off. You have a broken rib, a fractured wrist and Noelle had to stitch you up pretty good. If I wouldn’t have found you when I did … it’s probably better if you don’t remember all of it.”

  
“Who is Noelle? Is she your girlfriend?” Rey fished. She couldn’t believe herself. She knew this man for all of five minutes and she was lying in – for all intents and purposes a hospital bed- and here she was asking such personal questions.

“She-“ he started.

  
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I’m such an idiot. I blame it on whatever drugs you are giving me through this IV.” She quipped, rolling her eyes.  
“Rey, that’s just fluid to rehydrate you. We’re not giving you drugs anymore.” He smirked.

  
“Oh…” she blushed.

  
“To answer your question, Noelle is not my girlfriend. She’s my cousin. She works in the ER at the hospital and I had her come to help after I found you. She’s been the one trying to heal you. I’ve just been keeping watch.”

Rey was so scatterbrained. This was all too much to take. A freight train of logical thinking slammed into her brain and she inwardly gasped. ‘I’m in a hospital gown. He saw me naked.’

She brought her hand up over her eyes in embarrassment. ‘Oh, my God I can only imagine what I look like right now.’ Rey thought.  
“How on Earth did you find me?” she asked.  
“Like I said I was out. I heard what was going on and –“ the Stranger began.

“You killed those men?”

  
“I had to!” He cried as he moved closer to her. “It was either them or us! What they did to you… what they were planning on doing to you. I hope you never remember what happened.” His deep eyes fell to floor as he shook his head.

  
Rey leaned back into the bed as her eyes flashed around the room wildly. Planning to do? How did he know that?

_He killed those men._

_For her._

_To protect her._

She tried to regain herself, while her Angel stood tall still at her side in his simple dark wash jeans, boots and a black T-shirt.  
Rey glanced up at him. His hair was still perfectly messy. His dark locks were long and fell down to the bottom of his earlobes, strands skimming his eyebrows. Rey wanted to reach up and thread her fingers through those wisps that fell down to his long, black eyelashes. Her eyes continued to rake over him and Rey suddenly realized why her Angel won the fight against her attackers.

‘Wow -he is in good shape. Incredible shape, actually.’ she thought as a blush crept over her cheeks.His biceps were strong, lean and cut, the hard planes of his chest were undeniably stretching the black fabric on his t-shirt. And he was tall.

_Wow, was he tall._

  
‘ _This man truly does have the body of an Angel. So strong and beautiful and just…. perfect.’_ Rey shook her head. _‘What is happening to me? Snap out of it! Stop it! How can you think about that at a time like this? I’m sitting here thinking about him like that and I don’t even know who he is!’_

  
“Hey…” she called sweetly.

  
The Angel looked up, his eyes transfixed on Rey and she felt a charge. Something she had never felt before. Some sort of spark passed between them, she was sure of it.

  
“I…I don’t even know your name… I can’t even properly thank you without knowing your name.” she breathed as her mouth went dry.

Without taking his obsidian eyes off of Rey he whispered, “Kylo. You can call me Kylo.”

Kylo.

Kylo, her _Angel._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspo:
> 
> Angel - Gavin Friday  
> Disarm - Smashing Pumpkins


	3. I’m open to falling from grace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey there my lovelies! So, as I stated at the beginning of the last chapter, for all of you that just started reading along as I first posted it... something happened where my 1st and 3rd chapters posted as the 1st and 2nd chapter and basically my entire second chapter vanished.  
> I don't know what happened, but I went back and added it and now here is the actual 3rd chapter. So, if you already read this, you may want to go back a chapter and read the new content!
> 
> I hope you enjoy Angel Kylo and the upcoming rise of bad ass Rey.

Days had stretched into a week and Rey had been staying with Kylo since the attack. Knowing that she wasn’t safe outside his loft, Rey agreed it was best if she stayed put. She was sleeping a lot due to her injuries and needed a safe place to lay low. Noelle still came to check on her often since her rib and wrist were still healing and her stitches needed to be kept an eye on.

As Noelle tended to her, Rey’s eyes surveyed the young woman. Noelle was young, petite and had such a punk rock way about her. Noelle wore her jet black hair short to the bottom of her earlobes in a blunt bob cut and had earrings all throughout her ears. She had a touch of cynicism and such a quick wit. Rey liked her.  
As Noelle examined her, Rey’s mind drifted to her life before that awful night in the alley. She had finally worked her way up from being just an assistant at a record label to someone who was actually tasked with bringing the world new music. That was all she ever wanted to do and she had finally made it. All of that hard work towards her goal, running errands, fetching coffee, working overtime for years and in the blink of an eye it was all over.

Because of Snoke. All because of him. What gives him the right to destroy people’s lives like it doesn’t matter?

Rey’s mind quickly pivoted to the actual affect her vanishing would have. What must everyone back at the record label think? Do they think she just up and left? Would they think she was the type of person to just do that? Did she quit and found a job at a competing label? Did they worry if she was murdered and lying dead somewhere? Did they even care?

Rey sighed and tucked her chestnut hair behind her ear. ‘No sense in wondering.’ She scolded herself.

“You aren’t healing as fast I was would like, but healing nonetheless. Which I’ll take.” Noelle sighed.

  
“How much longer do you think? It hurts to breathe still.”

  
“Well, the only real treatment for the rib is to rest so you can mend yourself. Just keep talking it easy.”

  
“That’s all I do is take it easy.” Rey muttered.

“Oh, stop.” Noelle chided as she cocked an eyebrow at Rey.

  
“Noelle, can I ask you --- what’s the deal with Kylo? I mean this place...” she began.

Kylo’s loft was truly something to fall in love with it. The building itself was an old warehouse, so it still had a very industrial feel. Floor to ceiling warehouse windows lined most of the walls and the remaining walls were red brick. Rey detected that her savior detested color as the loft was mainly furnished in silver, red and black, but she still loved it. It was the kind of place that she used to fantasize about living in when she first moved to Seattle from Jakku, New Mexico. The loft had a very open feel aside from the doors to the left. They were the doors that led into Kylo’s room. Doors that remained locked.  
Kylo had set up a bed in the main room by the TV for Rey. There was a bathroom a few feet from her bed in the corner, so she had everything she needed. Which left her no good reason to explain why she was trying to break into the locked room if she ever got caught. The apprehension kept her attempts at bay.  
One good thing about being confined to the bed, was that from the top floor of this warehouse loft, she had a fantastic view of the bay.

  
_Never mind about the stupid view of the bay… what was behind those doors that they were locked around the clock?_

“It’s something right? Well this used to be an old factory… our family owned it and the land. The factory closed down and the lot sat vacant for years. When our Uncle died who owned it at the time, he willed it to Kylo… so he just turned the top floor into this. It gives him the privacy that a loner like him thrives on.”

  
“Wow.” Rey breathed.

  
“Yeah, and to think I used to say he had no artistic vision.” She giggled as she packed up her kit.

  
“I still don’t know what’s in there…” Rey fished as motioned to the large set of doors to her left.

  
“Eh, just Kylo’s room. I haven’t seen it either since he finished the place. Well, you look all good to go here and I’ve gotta get into work. Kylo should be back soon... so you won’t be alone long. Bye, Rey!”

Noelle grabbed her bag and keys and hurried out the door. This studio loft was nice, but … it was starting to become nothing more than a gilded cage.  
Rey wanted to do something.

She wanted to find a way to stop Snoke.

She wanted to find a way to take revenge.

She wanted her old life back.

Late one night, Kylo had tried to sneak back into to Rey’s apartment to try and salvage some of Rey’s things, but it was being watched by Snoke’s men. If he even attempted it, their cover would be blown.

Rey appreciated the effort, but she would have at least liked some of her vintage band t-shirts that were her pride and joy, some of her jewelry that she collected over the years in New Mexico – something to make her feel more like herself. She would have even settled for her favorite lavender soap. Anything to try and get her identity back. But for now, she had to stick with the oversized sweats and extra scrubs Noelle brought her.

  
And the more she thought about it, maybe Kylo was right. Right now, she was a blank slate. She could start over and be anything she wanted to be.  
She could finally be the person she knew she was inside.

  
Someone who fought back.

But what she wanted more than anything was to find out what was on the other side of those locked doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspo:
> 
> 6 Underground- Sneaker Pimps


	4. Would you still wrap me up and tell me that you think this was smart?

As time passed, Rey and Kylo fell into a comfortable domestic rhythm. Despite the awful circumstances that brought them together, Rey staying with him was actually working out quite well. Rey knew she had nowhere else to go and that staying with Kylo with the smart play, the play most likely to keep her hidden away and alive. Kylo was only too happy to oblige. Their days were filled with animated discussions about everything from movies, to their favorite bands and songs, which quickly evolved into games of “Two truths and a lie” and “Never have I ever”. Kylo drank for them both since he wouldn’t let Rey take a sip until she felt a little better. She chided him about how ‘those weren’t the rules’ and she could at least have a sip or two of beer. He rolled his eyes and would simply mutter, “Take it easy, Princess.”

  
She told him she hated being called that, but who was she kidding? She would like anything that smoky voice called her and she loved the belonging she finally felt.  
They talked about where they would travel to if they had all the money in the world, what their pet peeves were and how Rey loved collecting band t-shirts. Nothing was off limits and nothing was too silly. It was an effortless bond.

Each night, they would take turns picking out something to watch on TV. They would laugh together at the cheesy 80’s horror movies that Rey would pick and Kylo would insist that she catch up on what he deemed were the perfect thrillers and mysteries. He waited with baited breath to see if Rey would like the twist endings as much as he did. They would settle together on the couch with ice cream or popcorn and without even realizing it, they went from sitting on opposite ends of the couch, to leaning against one another and finally to Kylo wrapping his arms around her while she nuzzled into his chest.

  
One night while watching a typical horror movie, in which the ‘final girl’ was gearing up to take down the “big bad”, Rey lifted her head from Kylo’s broad shoulder and peeked up at him. Her hazel eyes focused on a constellation of beauty marks around his neck as she cleared her throat. She idly turned a piece of popcorn over and over in her hand as she plucked up the courage to speak her mind.

“You know I’m going after him right? When I’m better…. I’m not going to stop until he is destroyed.” Her sobering tone dripping with malice. “I’m not going to be talked out of it. I don’t want to drag you into this. You have done more than enough for me, but I need you to understand that I’m going to do this with or without you. I have to.” Rey concluded as a thunderstorm rolled in the distance, heavy rain pelting against the flat warehouse windows.

Kylo having already sensed this from the energy she was radiating lately, took a measured breath before replying calmly. “I know. We’ll do it, together.”

“I don’t think this is a good idea, but it’s your birthday… and so, I’ll make an exception.” Kylo smiled as he handed Rey a helmet. “Now, put that on. Here, I’ll fasten it.” He reached over and slowly fastened the strap to the helmet around Rey’s chin. Kylo swallowed deeply as Rey smiled down at him.

  
“Thank you for doing this. It means a lot. It’s nice to be able to get out for just a little bit.”

  
“Don’t mention it. There, you’re set. I’m still against this, just so you know.” he smirked. “You can just hop on behind me, but go easy. You are still healing.” Kylo cautioned.

  
“Ok, boss.” Rey smiled as she gingerly climbed onto Kylo’s black and gunmetal grey Triumph Bonneville.

  
“I need you to hold on tightly, ok?” he called over his shoulder.

  
“Um, do I just…” Rey started, unsure of where to put her hands.

  
“Just around my waist…here.” Kylo grabbed her hands and placed them around his waist. They both drew in their breath, feeling the spark igniting from underneath their skin. “Hold tight and don’t let go, sweetheart.” Kylo said as a small, devious smile crept across his full lips.  
With Kylo’s back turned, Rey smiled widely, pressed her cheek against the cool leather of his jacket and momentarily closed her eyes, a little scared of what would happen next. She looked down at his back, and realized he was wearing his Angel Wing kutte over his leather jacket.

Her angel.

It brought another smile to her face.

“You look exquisite by the way.” He murmured behind his shoulder. His smoky voice hung in the air between them like an electrical charge.

Before Rey even had a chance to respond, Kylo fired up the engine, the bike roared to life and they were off. At first, Rey thought she would be terrified, but as the machine roared on she felt herself let go. Rey could only describe it as the most deliciously free feeling she had ever experienced. The wind swept her hair into a halo around her and she felt like she was flying. The thrumming of the machine beneath her, the tension her body felt in response to being in such close proximity to this behemoth of a man, the crisp wind coiling around her – it was an invigorating and thrilling mix. As she felt courage bloom within her, she gradually withdrew her hands from Kylo’s waist and moved them outward to the sides.

Her fingers danced along the evening wind and every care and worry exited her; it was just her and Kylo. She smiled at the sky and Kylo just let her go, instead of scolding her. He could almost feel the weight lifting off her and was glad she could finally let go. Nothing else mattered but him and her- Rey was radiating pure happiness. She drew her arms in and snaked them back around his waist, unable to control her smile.  
They continued for a while more until Kylo began to slow his motorcycle in a stone alley way.

  
“Are we close?” Rey asked.

  
Kylo gestured up to the electric blue neon light up ahead in the shape of a cross. “That’s it. St. Peter’s.”

St. Peters was a genuine speakeasy in every sense of the word. The electric blue cross lit outside coupled with the inconspicuous front, kept St. Peter’s a secret within it’s loyal and exclusive patrons. Under the guise of it being a rundown church from the average onlooker, Kylo knew it would be safe to bring Rey here. Rey had been wanting to get out for days and with St. Peter’s reputation for remaining undiscovered and it’s select clientele list, he trusted that her identity would remain anonymous, keeping her protected.

The interior was red brick with a stage situated at the back of the space. The woodworking on the bar was such a deep, dark mahogany, you felt as though it must house decades of secrets. Stark white linen tablecloths were draped over a handful of tables, while Thomas Edison style lightbulbs threw an amber glow against the fresh white flowers inside tiny bubble vases on each of the tables. Tea lights lined the long bar, their radiance bouncing off the deep hunter green cushions on the barstools. It felt, decedent, dreamy and sexy; a clandestine place for just them. Rey instantly loved it.

“So why music?” Kylo asked, bringing his bourbon to his lips.

  
Kylo and Rey were situated at corner table, sipping their drinks and listening to the soft instrumental music that was playing somewhere faintly in the background. It was quixotic and Rey felt herself falling hard and fast with his bottomless chocolate eyes gazing back into hers. His glare made her feel like hot molten lava was coursing through her veins everywhere his gaze touched.

“Why… music….” Rey thought for a moment as she heard the instrumental music shift over to ‘No Ordinary Love’ by Sade.

  
_‘Really, universe?’_ she groaned inwardly. _‘Trying to tell me something?’_

  
She stared at Kylo’s plush lips and wondered what he tasted like.

  
_‘I bet he tastes like pure electricity. And sin.’_ she thought, pulling her lower lip between her teeth and inhaling sharply.

  
“Yeah, what made that your passion?” Kylo’s velvet voice replied, snapping Rey out of her trance.

  
“Ah, well I guess it’s pretty simple. I just wanted to make music for people.” She shrugged.

  
Kylo chuckled as he took another sip of his drink.

  
“No, seriously. When you think about it, music is so tied to people’s lives. There are songs for weddings, birthdays, your first kiss.” Rey cleared her throat and continued, “There are just times in your life and music was right there to catch you. It’s so engrained in you. If you hear an older song, it can instantly transport you back to that time in your life. Right? What else has that power? Music makes you feel happy, sad, regretful, there is music that lets you wallow in depression to get through it.”

  
“You know, you’re right. I guess I never thought of it like that.” Kylo smirked as he tilted his head, admiring the curve of her neck.

  
“And that’s why I liked finally doing what I was doing before all this. I got to find new music. There’s all this waiting, searching and then finding that diamond in the rough and bringing it before everyone as something beautiful. It took a lot of time and patience, but I realized what I was good at. Scavenging, realizing potential, fixing it up and letting the world in on the secret I had found.”

  
“That’s an interesting way of looking at it.” Kylo’s smooth tone drawled.

“Growing up, I had a little bit of a rough way with it. Music was always there to get me through. To help me get past whatever chaos was happening. Music doesn’t judge you, leave you… it’s a constant. Something you can count on. It was there for me when I needed it and I want to... you know, bring those same feelings to people. It’s just ....” she trailed off, her words failing her. “I love all kinds of music too, you know…” she added, swinging her straw around her glass with her fingertips before bringing it to her lips.”

  
“Even pop music from the 90’s?” he chuckled tilting his head to the side to reference the music currently pumping through the speakers.  
“Hey, don’t knock it. I mean there is some good stuff in there.” She blurted, swallowing down the bar’s special Sazerac cocktail, the absinthe stinging the back of her throat.

  
“Oh, really? Prove it.” He dared, tapping his glass of bourbon.

  
“Well come on, bands like Nirvana? The Alternative Revolution! All that grunge anger rock…it put Seattle on the music map! Dave Matthews Band? Alice in Chains was right here in Seattle. Sure they formed in 1987, but their first album was in 1990. Bands like Soundgarden were widely more accepted. Come on!” she shook her head.

  
Simmering in the silence, Kylo took a sip of his Bourbon. “Ok, ok. I’m talking about the really cheesy stuff. Like, Paula Abdul and…”

  
“Hey now, come on she’s got some good stuff.” Rey interrupted.

  
“No way. That’s where I draw the line.” He placed his glass back down as he giggled. He was having a good time; he couldn’t believe it. He actually giggled. Him, out, having fun. It was uncharacteristic, but so easy with Rey.

  
“Oh come on!”

  
“No, even you can’t make any of that sound remotely good.” Kylo concluded, removing his leather jacket.

  
“No, seriously. You don’t think I can? Fine, that sounds like a dare.” She whispered, not even trying to hide her flirty tone.

  
“Dare.” He quickly shot back. His timbre dark and thick with suggestion. Adjusting herself in her seat with a confident look on her face, Rey nodded.

“Okay, take the one song she had. It was called “Rush, Rush”. Released in 1991. Take out all the so called “poppy nonsense” and really listen to it. The song was describing a love so pure, so innocent, perfect and sweet. The tone and husk in her voice, it complimented the words perfectly. Rising and falling just like the highs of love. Intoxicating scents of sandalwood, cinnamon, vanilla and jasmine flood your senses while you feel the thick, summer night air envelop you. Stars, sex and sighs. Twilight. Seclusion. Wanting the world to stop and it does.” Her staccato sentences wove the story as it came to her in flashes and sparks.  
Her seductive voice continued to interlace the narrative together as Kylo's eyes were transfixed onto her, lustfully drinking her in. “Time stands still when you are just lost in that other person. Cramped up in your car in an isolated forest, just to have somewhere to be alone with that person. There is mystery, but yet familiarity. You are bewitched and while the song writing and composition wasn’t exactly hard, the feelings are so beautiful and clear. Being in love so entirely and deeply that if the person isn’t inside your arms-- it’s not enough. You don’t need or want anything from them…you just want to be able to be with them. And that’s enough. Just being near them, that’s enough for you. That’s what music can do, you know? Can you imagine feeling that for someone so passionately? To sense them within every piece of your humanity? Pulsating through you? Can you imagine love like that?” Rey’s breathy tone drawled as the music switched to a slow, jazzy tune.

Glowering into her hazel eyes, Kylo’s glass nearly slipped between his fingers and onto the table below. Slack jawed and in awe, he almost didn’t notice in comparison to the beautiful story she spun.

“And not to mention you throw Keanu Reeves into your video and there you go.” She quipped to break the intense silence.

“Wow, you can make anything sound good. I stand corrected.” He conceded. Kylo exhaled and cleared his throat.

  
Rey drew her drink to her lips, took another nip and smiled slightly. “No, that’s just the brilliance of music. That’s why I wanted to do what I do. Find new music and bring all of that to people. Music is so much more than just a melody strung together with some words. It’s...so... important. Come on, give me another, I’m just getting warmed up!” she asked.

  
“Ok, do right now.” He challenged.

  
“Right now?”

  
“Yeah, this scene, this place. The ambiance. The music, the everything. Come on, hot shot. Dare.” Kylo taunted, a wicked smile forming on his lips.

Rey sighed before her honeyed voice drawled out the scene. “See this place is so much of a contradiction. Here we are in the Pacific Northwest, but inside here, it’s the Deep South. The air is different in each, the light is different, but somehow it swirls and spirals together and creates something singular. Brick, magnolia, mint, sugar cane and bourbon. The tinkling of ice against high ball glasses while the sharp scent of that electrical charge from oncoming thunderstorm rolls in, filling and taking over your senses. Wisteria. Smoke, haze and mystery hangs in the ether, amber glow pushes against the slow moving molasses within each note from the band. That same smoke and haze though somehow tugs the Pacific in from the outside. Frasier Fir, Douglas Fir, cinnamon, and tree sap mixes the with smell of raging campfire. One inhale and the heavenly scent infuses you with a courageous and adventurous spirit. You yearn for mountains you have yet to see while you savor the crisp air, full moon and the sparkle of the stars. Chilly fingers intertwining together, searching for warmth in the frosty environment.”

“Wow.” Kylo gulped, fighting off the urge to launch himself over the table at her. ‘ _Goddamn it, woman._ ’ He thought. ‘ _You must know what you do to me_.’

  
She glanced over his perfect face, how incredibly soft his lips looked, his broad shoulders, his toned biceps; all hauntingly illuminated in auburns from the glow the low lights casted.

  
His gaze descended lower.

She noticed he too was looking her body over the same way. The same carnal way he did the other night when he thought she wasn’t paying attention. His eyes devoured every inch of her frame and every so many seconds, they flickered back up to meet her gold speckled eyes. Her lashes were full and thick- her eyes outlined with black and a sprinkling of what looked like pure stardust wisped over her eyelids. The combination made her hazel eyes seem to almost glow.

“Well, I mean that’s why I got into it. Don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go back to it... but that’s why I got into it.” She offered, attempting to break the tension.

  
“Look, I’m not going to lie, it might be a while. We just have to wait for this to blow over.” Kylo offered even though he knew it wasn’t true.

  
Rey smiled politely, but knew in her gut that that part of her life was over. There was no going back to it. She examined her hands and twirled the ring Noelle had given her on her index finger. Without them noticing, a band had taken the stage during their conversation and began to prepare for their set. The band started to cue up their rendition of ‘Stardust’. The vamp of the tune began and an enigmatic feeling washed over Kylo.

“And now the purple dusk of twilight time steals across the meadows of my heart….” The singer’s raspy voice began.

“Dance with me.” He breathed.

  
Rey’s eyes flashed up and met Kylo’s with astonishment.

  
“I didn’t know you danced.” She smiled.

  
“I don’t. Dance with me.” He breathed once more, repeating his invitation.

  
Rey giggled.

  
“I’m serious.” He growled intensely.

  
Kylo just wanted to be close to her; to hold her. He didn’t know what was coming over him.  
Kylo held out his hand as Rey stood up and slid her hand into his. He led her out to the dance floor where they stood a few inches apart for a few moments that seemed like days. Kylo inhaled deeply. This was not something he usually did at all. It felt so foreign – but he didn’t care. He just wanted to dance with her. He couldn’t explain it…he simply needed to.

Entwining his fingers with hers, they started rocking back and forth to the sluggish, jazzy beat. Never taking his smoldering eyes off of her, he gradually pulled her waist to him with his left arm and drew his right arm up to his chest – still holding her hand and placed it against his beating heart.  
Rey glowed as she couldn’t deny what she was feeling. His slightest touch sent electricity through her from the top of her head, down to the tips of her toes. She beamed at how even while they danced together slowly, he kept his hand at her waist, tenderly bracing her back– as if to still protect her.  
Liked he cared about her.

He cared. She knew he did. She felt it.

Rey inhaled the sharp scent of brick, booze and something exquisite she could only describe as only Kylo. As silly as it sounded, to her he smelled like a mug of coffee on a rainy morning while you sat by a fireplace. It sounded ludicrous, but when she inhaled deeply anytime she was near him, that scenario flashed before her. It soothed and calmed her in ways she just couldn’t describe.

They danced together gently, never taking their eyes off one another. Each of them was slowly allowing themselves to feel what they had been fighting off for weeks. The music played on, enveloping them in this hazy, starry-eyed bubble. Rey was certain her heart had never beaten so quick in her life. She tried to steady her breathing, but with Kylo’s handsomely stoic face staring back at her; inches from her own, it was no use.

Her cocoa colored hair fell in beachy waves down past her bare shoulders. She had borrowed an off the shoulder, long sleeve lacy top from Noelle. The snug midnight black lace top hugged her curves in all the right places and she paired it with a simple pair of tight dark, ripped jeans. For the first time in a long time, she actually felt sexy. But maybe it was just because of the way that Kylo looked at her.

As Kylo studied Rey’s face, he examined the little flecks of gold in her eyes. They were multifaceted and had him completely under her spell.

She was magnificent and ethereal. Kylo knew he had found the other half of his soul. He never saw in anyone’s eyes what he saw in Rey’s.

Rey was everything he could have possibly dreamed up. He felt himself surrender to the desire that had been building in him, let go of her hand that was still resting on his chest and touched his fingers to her chin so tenderly, beckoning her lips to meet his. Rey searched his bottomless eyes as he inched closer to her. Kylo inhaled deeply, closed his eyes and just as their lips were about to meet, they were both jolted forward.

“Oh man, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to bump into you... clearly I’ve had enough.” The stumbling man apologized.

  
The jolt sent Kylo and Rey forward- propelling Rey’s back into a high top table. He did his best to shield her, but he was taken off guard.  
Rey grimaced and realized the man spilled his whiskey all over her arm.  
“It’s ok.” she said as she tried to brush the liquid off of her.

  
“Are you alright?” Kylo asked, handing her a napkin from the table.

  
“I’m ok, I’m ok.” She winced.

  
“No pain in your back?” he asked, stroking her lower back with his fingertips.

  
“No, Kylo I’m fine. I’m fine.” Rey lied as she could feel her ribs throbbing from the jolt.

  
“Come on, I know when you are hurt.” He slid his hand down her soft hair.

  
“No, really, I’m fine.”

  
“Come on, you aren’t … let’s go. I want to show you something anyways.” He motioned to the door.

  
Rey grimaced once more. “Okay.” She was in pain, but was relishing being out in the “real world”.

Being out with Kylo.

As they rode back home, Rey held onto Kylo’s waist as tight as she could. Their evening at the bar had only made her want to be near him more. She pressed her chest to his back, breathing him in, reveling in the pressure of his solid body against hers. Even stoic Kylo couldn’t hide the fact that he liked her holding him so close. When they would come to a stop, Rey released her grip slightly and rested her hand on his thigh, sending even more voltage coursing through his veins. He felt like he couldn’t handle all of this emotion coming at him at once. All he could do was breathe deeply, to try and shake it off.  
And think about anything but her body.

Kylo brought the bike to a stop inside the warehouse and led Rey over to the industrial elevator up to his loft.

  
“Come on, we’re almost there.” Kylo whispered.

  
“What is it?” Rey giggled.

  
As they reached the loft, Kylo led her through and to a door she thought was a closet, but instead was a staircase. Kylo took to the stairs and turned back to Rey, reaching for her hand, a slight smile forming on his lips.

  
“This way.”

  
Rey reached the top of the stairs and was immediately struck with the magnificent night sky. She walked outside to find that the top of the warehouse had a spectacular view of the city in the far distance. A crisp breeze blew and she breathed everything in.

“This is beautiful.” Rey sighed.

  
“Yeah, I mean I know it’s not much, but now that you are feeling a little bit better, I thought you could come out here at night, when no one would know and you could still feel free. And I thought you would love that view.” He motioned towards the bay.

  
“You were right. This is incredible.” She breathed, smiling at the stars twinkling above them.

  
The roof was sunken in with a brick border around the building standing about four feet high, so you could stand on the roof, lean against the border and stare out into the bay in the distance. _‘A perfect place to come, gaze off and think_.’ Rey thought.

  
“Yeah, I mean there really aren’t any vantage points where people could see you. You are totally secluded, so you wouldn’t have to worry.” He said, motioning to their surroundings.

  
“Kylo, this is wonderful.” She smiled.

  
She inched her fingers over towards his and took them into hers, intertwining them. The two walked over to the edge of the roof and leaned against the wall, looking out into the bay.

“Thank you for showing me this. This has been a good birthday.”

  
“Maybe next time I’ll take you out on the Falcon instead. When you’ve actually healed, that is.”

  
“Take me out? How about I take you out instead? I drive.” Rey smirked mischievously.

  
“Mmph..” Kylo groaned. “Before I forget, I have something for you. I was kind of waiting for the right time. I was worried it might upset you.” Kylo said gingerly.

  
“You planned this!” Rey smiled brightly, touched that someone would even get her something for her birthday. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

_‘Oh that damn smile.’_ Kylo thought.

Kylo reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a small bundle wrapped in purple tissue paper.

“I wanted to.” He swallowed, handing the bundle to Rey.

  
Rey tore the paper away, revealing a black Led Zeppelin T-Shirt. Her heart sank.

  
“Ohh.” She sighed, tracing her fingers over the image of Icarus beneath the band’s name.

  
“I know how much you miss your concert t-shirts and I wanted to get you your favorite to restart your collection.” He offered, his eyes full of trepidation, hopeful that she would love the message he was trying to send her. He hoped it didn’t remind her of the awful things, just the good that could come.  
Tears welled up behind her eyes as she tugged the shirt to her chest, her fingers clutching at the soft fabric.

“Thank you, Kylo.” She breathed sincerely. She simply didn’t have the words. His kind thought had left her touched, speechless and incredibly moved.  
As they stared at one another, Rey’s hair began to blow in the breeze. Kylo caught the strand of hair, caressing it and tucking it behind her ear as they angled their bodies closer towards one another.

“I think you owe me the rest of that dance.” He whispered.

  
Rey smiled and bit her lip. “I’d love to.” She replied, draping her new favorite t-shirt over the brick wall.

  
Kylo gently pulled her close again and they began to sway to an imaginary song. Rey didn’t care. She felt as though her heart was beating loudly enough to keep time.  
Like at St. Peters, she searched his powerful eyes. She could feel the sea of churning emotion behind them. She wanted to know about it all. About everything behind those eyes.

She wanted to be his everything.

Rey knew right then and there, that accident or not... there was no place she would rather be at this moment. This perfect moment.

As they danced, all Kylo could think about was restarting what almost happened at the bar. He just wanted to kiss her, to touch his lips to hers and finally surrender to what he felt inside. Rey’s face was beautifully lit by the moonlight as he studied her.

‘ _Goddamn, this woman is exquisite._ ’ He thought.

Their faces, only inches apart held enough electricity to light the entire world. Rey closed her eyes and inhaled deeply and took the scent of Kylo in once more.

Coffee. Smoke. Fresh rain.

It was exhilarating and inebriating. When she opened her eyes, she found Kylo staring down at her, his smoldering eyes full of longing.

“Dare.” She whispered, mustering up all the courage she had within her tiny frame.

Exhaling with a deep hunger, Kylo tenderly pressed his lips to Rey’s. Her lips were soft and delicate against his, warm and inviting. Their lips parted for a split second before a passion seemed to burst within them both. Kylo wrapped both of his arms around Rey’s waist and pulled her against him. Their lips crashed together as Rey’s fingers wrapped around the back of his neck entwining in his raven hair. Rey’s back screamed out in pain under the force of Kylo’s powerful hands, but she didn’t care. It was more than worth it. Their kisses grew hurried and intense but deliberate, both of them pressing as hard as they could, straining to get even closer to one another.

“Rey….” Kylo moaned, his arousal straining against his pants while his impossibly large hands grasped her waist. He nuzzled the crook of her neck, peppering her bare collar and earlobe with kisses. Kylo latched onto a spot on Rey’s ear between the smattering of studded earrings lining her earlobe and pulled it gently between his teeth. Rey let out a growl in approval, drew his face towards her and began kissing him with unbridled passion. Kylo surrendered himself to the kiss and felt immediately lost in desire. Rey’s tongue artfully and erotically explored his mouth causing him to moan once more against her lips.

Kylo never knew kissing could be like this; to actually feel something. He always looked as this aspect of his life as some sort of necessity that would periodically surface from time to time. Almost like servicing a car he thought, something that needed to be fed; something that just needed to be done. But, the void would be somewhat filled and forgotten moments later. There was nothing to revel in or even enjoy. Thinking back to the silly movies he watched with her, he likened it to a Vampire only living on donated blood—it will keep you strong, but you are never fully satisfied. The hunger would never subside, the thirst could never be quenched and he would be left with nothing to slake his burning lust. That is exactly how he felt before her.

‘ _Do you want to know why it didn’t work?_ ’ her voice echoed inside his head, dripping with seduction. Kylo jolted slightly and momentarily opened his eyes to find that Rey’s lips remained firmly attached to his and weren’t forming these words.

That was inside his head.

‘ _What was this?_ ’ He thought. ‘ _This wasn’t possible. Am I hearing her? Is this my imagination? Is she doing this?_ ’

‘ _Do you want to know why they weren’t able to satisfy that demon inside of you?_ ’ her mischievous voice hummed as she drew out the last few words sinfully while Kylo continued kissing her.

‘ _Because, they weren’t me._ ’ Slowly and wickedly her voice purred out, echoing within the caverns of Kylo’s mind.

The way she kissed him, the passionate movements of her tongue, mixed with the playful way she brushed his lower lip with the pad of her thumb – he felt his forever wrapped up in that moment. He was truly thankfully for the collision course that brought them together.

As they continued to kiss, Rey’s hands explored the strong cords of muscle that encompassed his back and shoulders, while Kylo savored the taste of absinthe that lingered on Rey’s tongue as his hands traveled down and cupped her firm backside. Rey tenderly reached underneath his charcoal t-shirt and traced the denim of his jeans, her index and middle fingers brushing his hard, flat stomach and desire exploded like a supernova within him. He kissed her even more fiercely as he moaned against her lips, grasping at her anywhere he could.

_Wait, what was he doing?_

He had to stop this immediately... even though he so desperately wanted continue kissing Rey as long as she would allow it, he knew this had to stop. This was wrong. He was taking advantage of someone who had just been through such a horrible event and here he was focusing on something like this. It was immoral and he couldn’t help but feel that he was taking advantage of her delicate mental state. Kylo craved this more than anything, but he needed it to be on the right terms. He abruptly broke away from the kiss and Rey’s eyes began to open. Her hazel eyes once full of lust began to give way to a look of confusion and hurt as he backed away slightly.

“Kylo, what is it? Don’t stop, please. I don’t want you to stop. I need you.” She breathed, fluttering her long black eyelashes and she tried to close the gap between them.

  
“Rey, I’m sorry... this is wrong. This shouldn’t have happened. I’m... I’m sorry.” Kylo whispered sternly as he backed away more. “I can’t.” He turned on his heel and walked back into the stairwell leaving Rey alone on the rooftop breathless and confused.

“Noelle, it’s been 3 days. He’s been gone for 3 days.”

  
“I’m sorry. I really don’t know where he is.” Noelle breathed as she carefully examined Rey’s hand.

  
“He hasn’t come back since then. And if he is coming back at all, he must be like a ninja. I’ve been waiting up for him like every night. We have to talk about this.”

  
“You know that if I knew, I would tell you.” The nurse offered.

  
“I mean we had a great night and then we got back here….” Rey trailed off, lost in thought.

  
“Got back here… and….?” Noelle sang.

  
“I already told you this!” Rey cried.

  
“Yeah, but I want the dirty details, I’m hoping you’ll give them to me this time.”

  
“Oh stop! We went up to the roof and he showed me how beautiful the view was, gave me an incredibly thoughtful gift and we… we…”

  
“We?”  
“I mean nothing extreme happened. But…”

  
“Was it headed there?” Noelle asked, arching her brow.

  
Rey sighed. “I think so, yeah.” After a beat, Rey continued. “I know so.”

  
“Look, if I know my cousin, he probably just felt like weird about everything.” Noelle shrugged.

  
“What do you mean?”

  
“If I know his line of thinking, I bet he was thinking that something like what was about to happen the other night was the last thing you need. And whenever he gets into situations like this – he runs. He’ll be back after a few days. You’ll see. He’ll, he’ll… see things clearly and stop being such and ass and come back.”

  
Rey could only muster a small smile.

  
“Look, your hand is healing great. You look pretty good otherwise. And don’t think I’m still not mad at you for going on that motorcycle. I’m not going to tell you again to take it easy. It’s the only way you are going to get better, for your ribs especially. I gotta get to the hospital, you need anything?”

  
“No, I’m good. Oh and thanks for all of the clothes and stuff you brought over for me. I appreciate it.” Noelle had gone shopping for Rey a few days before and picked her out some normal, everyday clothes as well as bringing over some of her hand-me-downs. Rey was incredibly thankful that she could finally wear something other than sweats or scrubs.

  
“Yeah, sure. A lot of it was my old stuff. I needed to clean out my closets anyways. Look, I gotta jet. You need anything, let me know.”

  
“Bye.” Rey whispered.

It would take 2 more days for Kylo to finally come home to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspo:
> 
> "I Need You" M83 (motorcycle sequence)  
> "Waiting Game" Banks (even though that's the name of my other Fic, it fit here and inspired some of this, too)  
> “If” Janet Jackson 
> 
> As always, I own nothing with these songs in this chapter. They are just what inspired my imagination....
> 
> I work without a beta so all mistakes are my own! Apologies!


	5. Says she talks to Angels...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo finally returns to Rey.
> 
> But, will she forgive him?

The cold, hard glass felt soothing against Rey’s temple. She propped her head against the large warehouse window, mindlessly watching the rain drops as they cascaded down from the night sky. Rey sat down on the floor, a black fluffy blanket draped over her shoulders with her bare, svelte legs tucked inside the t-shirt she wore. She desperately clutched her legs to her chest, trying to center herself. The vast room was practically pitch black dark, mirroring her state of mind. The power had gone out from the storm and she had lit the few candles she could find.

It was almost…romantic.

Kylo had now been gone for five days without a trace and truth be told, she thought this was getting absolutely ridiculous at this point. Rey felt herself sinking into a perpetual state of fury followed by numbness. When the numbness took over, her psyche was simply unable to replay their last encounter over in her mind anymore. It was too painful and too upsetting. She had exhausted every question, wondered endlessly and theorized about why he left down to the last, most minute detail, from every possible angle she could think of.

Even if she thought they were wrong. Or ridiculous or absolutely stupid.

Rage then followed as if to reignite her, tossing and turning her in a never-ending state of exhaustion.

_How could he just leave? Why? What was he so afraid of? How could he put me through this torture and uncertainty? Especially after everything I’ve been through in my life?_

_But wait… I didn’t actually tell him everything…So what? He still doesn’t have the right to do this!_

_Are you just going to never come back? How could you detonate all of those feelings in me and then just vanish? I feel like part of me is missing now, don’t you feel it, too? How can you be so careless?_ All of these questions would swirl inside her head on an infinite loop.

It was a merciless cycle.

Thunder rumbled in the distance and a bolt of lightning cracked the midnight blue sky into two. Jagged flashes of pure white light cast a glow onto her face, the storms tantrum illuminating her own wrath filled stare. Wrath would then give way once more to numbness, the cycle repeating itself over and over endlessly. For the past five nights, Rey would lay in her bed, obsessively hoping that the sound of heavy footsteps would cut through the silence and provide her an escape from this literal mental hell.

But it never came. 

Until that night.

Forked lightning, brilliant and white-hot, zipped through the black sky once more temporarily illuminating the dark loft. Crackling thunder rippled; and the rain showed no signs of stopping, this storm was only just beginning. Rey watched the sizzling lightning, allowing it to steady herself as she glanced down to the city below. She wondered where he was. It’s not like she could just go down there and look for him since she wouldn’t have the slightest idea where to start.

Could she?

_No. It was better to just wait._

‘I know all about waiting.’ She thought. ‘If my life and my job have taught me anything, first was how to deal with stubborn men and the second was to wait.’

The low start of a mechanical gear sliced through the darkness, causing Rey’s ears to perk up and her head snap towards the door.

_Was someone here? Was that the elevator?_

Rey’s breathing quickened as her eyes frantically scanned the darkness, but it was far too opaque to see anything.

“It was the elevator; that was definitely the elevator.” She mumbled aloud as her throat went dry.

_But what if it was someone else? Could someone get in here?_ Her mind frantically raced.

Could she defend herself?

Rey heard the thud of the elevator locking into place, followed by the hiss of the door opening.

Lightning ripped violently through the sky once more, pulling Rey’s attention momentarily back to the sharp bolts racing across the inky sky. Thunder roared loudly, shaking not only the window, but her body to it’s core. Pulse racing, she gasped in response to the booming noise before snapping her head back towards the door. The lightning cracked once more, illuminating the loft and revealing Kylo standing across from her, motionless and wild-eyed.

Rey jolted up and to her feet, the obsidian blanket sliding off her shoulders and pooling at her feet. Shock ripped through her as her heavy breathing rang back in her ears.

_Was this real? Was he really here? I’m awake, aren’t I?_ A flood of emotion swirled around Rey, tumbling her over and over.

_Thank God, he’s back._

_No, he can’t just leave and come back and expect everything to be okay._

_He’s back now, that’s the point he came back._

_No. He left._

_He’s here now! I don’t give up on people…_

Her internal monologue wouldn’t let her decide how she felt. Truth be told, she felt both glad and angry that he was back and that was simply the best she could do. She was of two minds about his return, and honestly didn’t know what would actually come tumbling out of her mouth; once she could will it to talk.

Fortunately for her, Kylo spoke first.

“Rey…” he breathed.

Rey exhaled deeply, squaring her jaw. Her eyes flickered back a hostile gaze and Kylo immediately picked up on her aggression.

“Rey.” He tried once more, this time with his palms up and to her, clearly attempting to send his yielding message to her.

“Don’t.” she hissed, taking a half step back.

“I know, I deserve that and I expect nothing less. What I did was wrong and I am so sorry. But, I came back to tell you that it was wrong, I shouldn’t have run and I shouldn’t have left you. That was a dick move.”

“Damn straight.” She interrupted.

“I got too close, got too scared and instead of manning up, I ran. I was absolutely miserable not being here- not being here with you. It’s what I always do, I run. Not anymore and not from you. And that’s why I wanted to come back to tell you, you don’t deserve that. What I did was wrong and there is simply no excuse. I know you might not forgive me and that’s okay. But, if you did decide to forgive me by some miracle, I will spend every single second of my existence just making you feel content and protected. I will never do that again. I want you with everything that I am and I understand if you can’t or don’t feel the same. But, that’s all I want. Just you. I am better, more focused around you Rey. My desire for you cannot be matched with anything else in this entire galaxy. The--- something is telling me that we belong together. I just needed you to know that.” He rambled nervously, hoping that something in his blathering made sense to her.

Tears prickled from behind Rey’s eyes as she began to speak. “How could you just leave me? Just like everyone else in my life? Everyone just walks out on me. You were supposed to be different. Why would you do that? I don’t understand.”

“Rey, I am… ohh... I was so wrong to do that. You deserve so much more than that. I made the biggest mistake and I regret that. I can only say that I didn’t think and acted out of panic. I was terrified of what I felt ----Wait, what, what are you talking about? Who walked out?”

“Everyone! My parents abandoned me and I was passed from foster home to foster home, each one worse than the last. They would get sick of me and then get rid of me. They would leave, everyone ended up leaving me. Hell, half of them barely fed me. Every single one of them was just after the support check they would get for having me, until even the money wasn’t worth the “work” they would have to put into me. I wasn’t worth it- to any of them. The same thing right up until the very last one, which was the worst one of all… Plutt.” She choked back a sob, unable to continue with the horrors of that particular story. She looked up at Kylo, his eyes wild and confused. “I told you I had a rough childhood, what did you think I meant?”

Kylo closed his eyes and exhaled. He had screwed up even worse than he thought. With Rey’s history and state of mind, his behavior plummeted from unacceptable to downright cruel.

“Certainly not that. Why didn’t you tell me any of this? We spent how long together just talking about anything and everything. You should have told me. You could have trusted me with that.”

“Well now you know and that’s just great. Every single one of them left me, they didn’t give a damn about me. To them I was nothing, no one…” she lamented, each word struggling more than the last through her stifled sobs.

“But not to me.” Kylo’s velvety dark tone murmured.

Exhaling what felt like the entire world off her shoulders at his words, Rey inwardly cursed as a shiver traveled down her spine and to the tips of her toes. A white-hot, electrical charge just like the bolts outside had began to pulse throughout her, bringing the storm inside her.

_Damn it. Don’t say things like that, I’m mad at you and saying things like that will decidedly, make... that…... less…. justified. What was I talking about? Damn it, he's beautiful._

“C’mere…” Kylo breathed, arms outstretched and pulling Rey into his chest.

Rey relaxed and went willingly into his arms, sobbing silently into the hard planes of his chest. Kylo held her against him as tight as he could, resting his chin against the top of her head. Every few moments he would kiss her crown, run his hands down the silky locks of her hair and down her back, reassuring her that he was there and that he wasn’t going anywhere again. Murmuring apologies into her soft, cocoa hued tresses, Rey closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his heartbeat, letting it calm her.

_Ah, there you are...._

_Smoke._

_Fresh Rain._

_Coffee._

Rey inhaled his own heavenly scent, until rage surfaced once more, exploding throughout her.

Rey pushed against Kylo’s chest, causing him to stumble backwards slightly.

“Don’t you ever leave me like that again!” she hissed, angling her body to face him.

“I won’t, sweetheart, I won’t.” he pleaded, momentarily frightened that she wouldn’t be forgiving him after all.

“I mean it!” Rey gritted as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. Clutching the shirt material at Kylo’s throat, she leaned into him, their faces only centimeters from one another as Kylo gazed into her eyes. “Never again. Do not abandon me. Do not betray me. Do not disrespect me again. Ok?” Rey’s eyes widened and her tone morphed into an almost maniacal calm. “Here’s what’s going to happen…you are going to take me into that bedroom of yours and into your bed and you are going to ask for forgiveness, properly. Then, maybe… maybe by the end of it… if you are really lucky and you apologize to me appropriately, then maybe I will continue to allow you to date me.” Rey cautioned, releasing her grip.

Kylo was temporarily stunned. He felt as though he couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. Who was this girl? She continued to surprise him. Truth be told, he kind of liked this side of her. The girl he knew had become stronger, poised, fearless, even more sensual and it all made him want her even more. The yearning inside him was scorching out of control but he couldn’t help but wonder where this was all coming from.

He stood, trembling in front of Rey, his eyes wide and full of panic.

“Nod if you understand!” her authoritative voice getting louder with each word.

“Rey….” Kylo gasped as he dropped to his knees before her while nodding rapidly. Instinctively, he reached for her and tugged her body to his. Seizing her waist, Kylo rested his head against her belly while Rey’s fingers wound through his hair.

Rey looked down at Kylo and decided that she believed his words. His voice was so pure, so chaste that what he was saying had to come from some place good inside him. Rey closed her eyes, inhaled deeply.

_Fresh rain. Coffee. Smoke._

When she opened her eyes, she found him still staring up at her, his commanding eyes full of longing.

Acutely aware that there were no shorts on underneath her oversized t-shirt, it didn’t take long for the dark desires in Kylo’s mind to take over. His breathing unsteady, just inches away from her core, he abruptly stood up and gathered Rey into his arms. She sighed at the action before lightly tracing her fingers down Kylo’s face, settling the pad of her thumb against his full lips. A hungry groan escaped from within Kylo’s throat as he urged his lips against her thumb before speaking.

“Let’s get to that apology.” He growled, crossing the room and snapping the doors to his room open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspo:
> 
> "Scorn" - Portishead  
> "Fade into You" - Mazzy Star  
> "She Talks to Angels" The Black Crowes  
> "Do I Wanna Know?" CHVRCHES  
> "Never Let Me Go" Florence + The Machine  
> There is also great "Sith Meditation" music that I found on YouTube as well.
> 
> You may detect a bit of Stranger Things S3- Jim Hopper yelling at Mike in this chapter. I don't know why, but I always found it hilarious in thinking Rey would be this angry with Kylo, therefore turning the tables...him messing up and her "allowing" him to continue to date her. I just wanted to add it for fun. :)


	6. She paints her eyes as black as night now...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey There, my Lovelies! Let's do some time travel, shall we?
> 
> *ducks for cover*
> 
> Here we go forward in time to where Kylo and Rey have been torn apart and as a result, Kylo turns to his hacker/ friend Armitage Hux for help in finding her. We find out what happened during some of that time, why they've been separated and why Kylo is trying to find her again.
> 
> thanks for the reads & kudos! It gives me LIFE! As always, I own nothing SW and if you are from any of the towns I mention, I hope I did my research correctly when mentioning it!
> 
> I went complete free-form here for this fic, placing our SW Characters in a whole different world... but with some nods and similarities. I enjoyed creating the general feel of Rey's vigilante alter-ego and giving her such a wild look. I wanted something that no one could even recognize her in, which made it relatively safe for her to move about the city.
> 
> I thought it would be fun to take a peek into where we are headed before pulling us back into the current timeline.  
> Next chapter I will return Kylo and Rey right to that bedroom, I swear!

_**Several years later………** _

“Ok, I’ve compiled some data and I really think that I may have her this time.”

“You think?” Kylo chided the thin, spindly red haired man. He stood in a dark warehouse-like space with blacked out windows, leaving little to no natural light. Fluorescent lights precariously hung from the ceiling amidst the sea of cables and cords, casting the room in a strange, artificial glow.

A true hacker’s den.

Numerous computer monitors spanned the length of the long, steel desks surrounding the space. Corkboards littered with papers marked the walls and old milk crates filled with computer parts sat atop the dated filing cabinets.

This was his ally Hux’s hideaway. Armitage Hux was one of his most trusted resources when it came to hacking, obtaining information or what he was here for today – finding people. Hux fancied himself a grey hat hacker of sorts. He might violate the law now and again, but it was for good reason; most of the time. Truly good people never got hurt as a result, and if someone did get hurt- he thought they more than deserved it. As much as Armitage liked to boast, Kylo knew that for all of the crowing he did about it, he actually was one of the best on the western seaboard. And so, Kylo would suffer through his maddening personality for help when he truly and desperately needed it.

If anyone could help him find her, it was Armitage.

“Well yeah... I really think I am onto something here.” Hux affirmed as he slid down the length of the long desk in his rolling chair. “Now, what I started with was to compile a series of possible starting points and then cross reference possible sightings, but I also bounced it against that list you gave me- the one where you listed where she wanted to travel. I think I’ve nailed it down to her starting in Lubec, Maine.” He divulged, touching his index finger to his chin.

“Maine?” Kylo asked skeptically.

“Yes, Maine. I mean--- strictly scorned woman language speaking, there is no better place to start than on the opposite side of the country. But, it’s still a linear equal to Seattle and as far east as you can go.” Hux pulls up a series of maps and charts filled with data onto the many screens before them. The screens flash and crawl, bathing Kylo’s uneasy expression in electric blue and green.

Kylo smirks, but motions to continue.

“So, yes…. she starts off in Lubec under the name Evangeline Korriban. Works at a local marina – under the table of course until she leaves a few months later.” With each location he mentions, Hux’s fingers fly at a blinding speed on his keyboards, bringing various information about the mentioned town up on the large computer screens that surround them. Kylo’s eyes dart around, taking it all in.

“That could be anyone.” He snaps, rolling his eyes.

“Ohhh-kayy.” Hux clears his throat, slightly annoyed at the dismissal of his hard work. “Next, after a few more months she pops up in Rowayton, Connecticut. Another little fishing and marina type town. She works the docks there and maybe even cleaning nights at a pizza shop on the wharf using the name Jade Triumph. Seems like she stays there for the same amount of time as well.” Hux’s voice slows as he flips through a stack of worn, coffee stained papers.

“So as soon as she would get comfortable in a new place she’s leaving? Only staying a few months?”

“It would appear that way. A few months and then she would leave, so she would never settle for long enough for anyone to find her. There is a possible pattern of these little charming seaside towns. I’m not trying to play amateur psychologist but, maybe trying to create an ideal life out of what she can?”

“Hm...”

“Next stop –Chatham, Massachusetts. Doing odd jobs around a little restaurant there…”

“Wait, near Cape Cod?” Kylo’s mind ticks back to one of their first conversations where they talked about where they would like to travel.

She was still confined to her bed then after the attack on her life. Whenever they talked about traveling, Cape Cod always fell near the top of her list. Her eyes simply sparkled when she daydreamed about wanting to eat lobster on the beach along Cape Cod. They could go together – she would always say.

_God, she was so beautiful._

“The very same. Went under the name Zoe St. Peter while she was here. Seems as though she rented a little cottage from an older couple who took pity on her by the beach. Very cute actually…” Hux sighs as the images on the screens continue to flash and scroll. A tiny little cottage situated amongst seagrass; it’s white paint worn down by the salt air, pops up on one of the many monitors. It was antiquated sure, but he could tell just by looking it at that Rey had been there, it’s charm tugging her in like a magnet.

“And?” Kylo urged Hux to continue.

“She stayed here a little longer than the most… guess she liked it here. But, then our girl was on the move again.” Hux sighed.

“Oh, she’s our girl now?” Kylo snorted.

Clearing his throat, Hux continued with his findings. “Then she continues to bounce around more and more. She must save up enough because then all of the sudden, she shows up far down the eastern seaboard. Chincoteague in Virginia under Karissa Dromund and she works the boats on the waterfront there. Then Beaufort, North Carolina – using the name Jocelyn Rainier.”

Kylo raises a questioning eyebrow.

“Tybee Island in Georgia – more of the same using Vanya Elliot as her name. Gulf Shores, Alabama under Noelle Baker. Don’t you see a pattern here?” Hux asks, motioning to screens with all of his findings laid out.

Kylo scans the screens and shrugs his shoulders indifferently.

“She sticks to strict coastal town rules.” Hux sighs.

“I don’t understand that… too small a town. That’s why what you are saying makes zero sense, Hux. Stop wasting my time.”

“No, the opposite actually. These are touristy towns, Kylo, yes. Local businesses need the help and they trust people. Some might even pay people on a day by day basis. There are so many people going in and out of the towns that no one really notices. If they do notice, it takes a couple months. It’s enough time to earn some money and have somewhere to stay for at least a little while. She sticks with the under the table type jobs which can be plentiful in these kinds of towns. A day of work, no questions asked, paid in cash. Happens all the time on boats. Actual jobs require social security numbers, background checks. There is no way she could even land an entry level job anywhere with her…” 

Kylo shoots him a warning glare.

“… record.” Hux concludes, clearing his throat.

“You had a point? A pattern?”

“Yes… so she sticks to these types of towns…a line down the coast…sure…. but look at the names she’s using.” Hux motions to the screen as he brings up a list. “It’s almost like she wanted to be found. She made sure to go to the opposite of where she grew up, too—never again in the desert.” He mused.

“Get to the point, you insufferable…”

“Ok, so look at this. I think based on what you told me about her – this could possibly really be her. Evangeline Korriban. Korriban is the name of the building you live in right? The old Korriban warehouse, where you took her to hide? Jade Triumph – you own a Triumph right?” Hux asks, fumbling papers and pointing wildly at the screens.

Kylo rolls his eyes as an unimpressed expression washes over him.

_But wait... Evangeline… Angel….._

“OK. Jocelyn Rainier… Mt. Rainier is in Washington State. Karissa Dromund is out right the same last name that you used to use as one of your aliases around the time you two were together. Noelle is your cousin’s name. Vanya Elliott… wasn’t that record company she worked at on Elliott Street in Seattle? Zoe St. Peter…”

“The bar I took her to on her birthday…Jesus Christ.” Kylo interrupts, his eyes flicker frantically across the screen as he starts to become somewhat convinced. His heart thrumming in his chest, Kylo can’t help but start to believe the case Hux is laying out.

“Exactly… I mean it’s almost like a love letter penned to you in a way…” Hux cracked. “I mean it’s so…” Hux catches the cautionary glare radiating from Kylo’s whiskey colored eyes and lets out an uneasy groan.

“Where is she NOW?” Kylo growled, interrupting the incessant blathering.

“Oh, well see that’s the best part. The St. Peter part is what got me thinking and I scanned and found someone using the name Wynter Hendrix in New Orleans. Winter...but with a “Y” instead. I know it’s a little off base on this one, because the name’s so weird...but keep focused. The jazz bar…. you used to live there in Louisiana, right? You used to live in New Orleans, right Kylo? Jazz, New Orleans… the birthplace of jazz music is New Orleans. It fits. You even told me after you told her that you used to live there that she added New Orleans to her travel list so you could show her around.” Hux animatedly paces up and down the wall of monitors, overcome with exasperation. 

“Hendrix?”

“Yeah... Hendrix. He’s from Seattle you know – a clear indicator.”

Kylo didn’t want to admit it, but he and Rey had many conversations about Jimi Hendrix and maybe this could fit. She knew that he knew that Hendrix was a favorite.

_No, no, no. This is happening too fast. I cannot face her._

“I don’t know, that seems like a stretch. I was talking to Jax and he has a lead in Wyoming.” Kylo groans, re-directing the conversation. Maybe part of him didn’t actually want to find her. Maybe he wanted to keep fooling himself so that he didn’t have to see the hurt in her eyes when they found her to warn her. Maybe he didn’t want to listen because he didn’t know how to say he was sorry.

There was too much to be sorry for.

And this was self-sabotage on every level.

“Wyoming?” Hux spat.

“Yes, Wyoming, and I think it’s a really solid lead.”

“Kylo, how can you just cast all of this aside? Everything fits. From the places she went to the names she chose, it’s like a road map to find her. Don’t you see? She did this so you could find her. Every single name she used has some connection to you. The places she chooses… they either tie into you or she mentioned wanting to visit there with you.” Hux sighed, throwing the papers in his hand to the floor in frustration. His normally pale skin began to flush a dark shade of crimson in anger at Kylo’s clear rejection of the facts, all so that he didn’t have to face the truth. And her. “It’s undeniable. Are you making this up so you don’t have to go there and check it out?”

Maybe he wasn’t as dimwitted as Kylo originally thought. Perhaps he did know people after all.

“I think I’m going to follow this lead in Wyoming. It seems solid.” Kylo pivoted, not wanting to answer his questions.

“A lead from Jax? Jax? Seriously? That idiot? Come on, you know she wouldn’t go there.” the red haired man howled. “Go ahead and waste your time, man. I thought you came to me because you wanted to find her. Not be dicked around. Jax just wants your money and has nothing substantial!”

“Oh and I suppose you do it for some altruistic reason, then?”

“I do it for the money, yeah, but really for the hunt and proving myself right. I would never lower myself to providing incorrect information just to string someone along for extra cash. That’s for amateurs and it does nothing for your reputation. My flawless reputation is everything to me. I actually do operate by a code and you don’t get my client list without it.”

Kylo simply glares in response, not knowing what to say. This is all getting too real, too quickly.

“You never really told me what happened. I mean, you gave me the basics and I understand that you think you owe her. That you saved her, you guys got in deep together, but then- nothing. What happened, Kylo? If I’m in this, then I’m in. I want to know everything. Why do you feel responsible for her? Why does she even have a record in the first place? She went through a string of foster homes, emancipated at 17, then this. What exactly happened?” Hux questioned.

“I told you to not go looking at her record! The less you know the better!” Kylo hissed.

“Kylo, I had to, man. How did you expect me to start? I had to.”

“Fine.” He huffed. “You know most of it… how I found her, took care of those low lives that almost killed her, made sure she got better and gave her a place to hide. After she got better, we um… we…” A deep pain rolled across his face, twisting his expression to something between fear and remorse. He took a deep breath and tried to clear his throat but he could feel the lump welling up in the base of his gullet. This was tougher to talk about than he thought it would be.

“I get it.” Hux offered gently.

“She didn’t want to live her life running or not fighting back so we decided to try and take Snoke down. We started small. Just stopping the enforcers from trying to shake down money from the business owners they were threatening. So, some of those collections went missing, then some of the collectors vanished. After that, we just kept going up the chain. Hit him where it hurt- his wallet. Once we saved a few people from losing all their money, we had ears to the ground, informants and we began to get tips. People knew her and looked to her as their saving grace. Sure, I was there too, but it was her they revered mostly. We stopped shipments, we stopped deals. Once we showed people what we were trying to do, their cooperation was sacrosanct to them. Whatever they could give us in terms of information, they did. Because they believed in us. They believed in her. She even made the papers once or twice.”

“What? I didn’t see that! I didn’t see any mention of her.”

“Well, you wouldn’t. Rey had vanished, or was dead for all people knew. This girl was someone new. She changed her hair, wore a tactical suit she had made for her, changed her look and even went by a pseudonym. Like an ‘alter ego’ as she liked to put it. She had to separate who she was before from the fighter she planned to be. It was the only way for her mind to compartmentalize and keep things separate, so she could keep who she was out there as one person and who she was with me, another.”

“That’s like next-level, superhero, vigilante shit.” Hux’s eyes went big, feeding on this story.

“Yeah, I suppose in a way, it was.”

“Wait, I do remember a string of vigilante activity a few years ago… oh man…. I think it was a woman. Wait, hang on… what did they call her… it’s like ancient Greek or something...” Hux tried to think back while images flashed before Kylo’s eyes.

“Nyx.” They both breathed at the same time.

“Nyx, the Goddess of the Night.” Kylo exhaled, lighting up a cigarette.

“No freaking way! That was her? Why didn’t you say that? Ok, ok, ok, ok. I gotta ask… what was with the Greek stuff? Was she Greek? It’s just different.” His eyebrows perked up, waiting with baited breath.

“Ah, long story, but um... she was into it a lot as a kid. She loved to read about Ancient Greece and the different Gods and stories and when she began training, it kinda, I guess resurfaced in a way and gave her some inspiration.” He bristled, his eyes squinting, conjuring up an image of Rey as a child with her worn, leather bound book on ancient Greek mythology clutched to her chest.

“You never told me that! Jesus Christ, she was a bad ass. That was such an awesome story. I remember it now! I remember hearing she used to carry around this staff, but it was awesome because it like split into two, into like these metal batons or something and then they could like go back together and the staff had a name too. Ugh, what was it? It was another Greek name too… it had to do with retribution, I think?” He searched his mind, trying to recall the details of this story from the recesses of his brain.

Memories danced wildly in front of Kylo’s eyes, replaying one particular mission back to him.

_The slender woman dressed in black tactical gear, stands above the unconscious thug bleeding onto the pavement. She exhales deeply and the black hood that obscures her icy hair quivers slightly. She is stoic, remaining in her ‘at the ready’ stance, silently begging for him to get back up so that the fight can continue. Black metal batons are clutched in each hand, ready to strike, a smattering of tactical gear and weapons wraps around her legs and waist._

_She is deadly and stunning._

_Kylo is perched atop a neighboring building, protectively keeping watch from the shadows, but knowing that his love is more than capable of handling this herself. He smiles at how far she has come._

_His Rey. His warrior goddess._

_Her hands join the ends of the batons and she snaps them together, creating a long quarterstaff as the pieces lock into place. In one fluid movement, she spins the staff passing it off into her right hand. She clutches it downward, just waiting to cast it along the thug’s back at any sign of movement._

_“Come on….” She whispers at the bloody heap beneath her._

_A frightened shop owner exits the back of the building to see the conclusion of what started in his store. The fight raged through his shop before spilling over into the alleyway. The blonde stringy-haired man stares, eyes as wide as saucers behind his thick glasses at the woman before him. Her back is to him, but based on their sizes alone, he would have never thought that this woman would have been the victor. How did she do this? Did she have some sort of powers? Was she on something?_

_The blonde woman’s eyes dart over her shoulder to the terrified shop owner who stares back in awe. Her calm demeanor and composed stance signaled that hers was a practiced hand. It was more than crystal clear to him that she done this before._

_“That was aggressive.” He cracks. “Hey, Lady... are you alright? Thank you so much. He has been terrorizing me and my brother for weeks, demanding money…it never stops. We give him some and they keep coming. It’s that Snoke organization.”_

_“The First Order.”_

_“You know who they are?” he asks shakily, instantly wishing he could take back that last bit. Just saying that name out loud was tempting the fates enough. He gingerly starts to move closer to see if he can recognize the woman across the alley._

_“I know.” The woman whispers, returning her attention to the thug below her and consequently concealing her face once more. “You needn’t be worrying about him anymore. And if anyone else returns in his place, you let me know and I will handle it.” Her even tone concluded._

_The shop owner nods and mumbles in agreement as his eyes zero in on the long quarterstaff clenched in her hand. Curiously, he spies crimson lettering etched along the weapon- spelling out a single word in a chilling font- ‘Nemesis’._

_“As soon as I’m gone, call the police, report this and ask for DA Dameron. Tell them a fight broke out and someone appeared to help you and then vanished. They’ll know you didn’t do this.” She murmurs._

_“Yeah, okay. Sure. Wait, how will I let you know? How do I contact you? What’s your name?” the shop owner asks cautiously._

_The thug’s lifeless body emits a slight cadaveric spasm and the woman snaps the staff down against the back of his head, her hood slithering down and revealing her silver- blonde hair cut sharply into an A-line bob._

_“Oh my god, I’m so turned on right now.” The man nervously jests._

_She whips her head towards the shop owner who flinches before he lets out a gasp. She is positively gorgeous, but for all of her chilling beauty, she is ten times more menacing. Her skin is a flawless, pale porcelain, her silver hair tangles around her head like a halo and dark, sinister makeup resembling something like a cross between gothic and demonic frames her face. Her eyes are absolutely haunting, as black as night; veiled entirely by black sclera contact lenses, creating an otherworldly look._

_A demon of the night._

_A ghost._

_She runs her frost colored teeth along her black lower lip and exhales. “I’m Nyx and I’ll contact you.” She growls before turning and sprinting into the night, while Kylo, her own personal Erebus fades back into the dark. “Well done, baby.” A proud smile crossing his lips as he broke into a run to find her at their predetermined rendezvous point._

_“Hey, do you want my number or? I think we had a connection, there, right? I’m single!” the shopkeeper yells into the darkness. His voice lowers and cracks, “Ok, I’ll catch up with you later.”_

  
  


“Nemesis. Her weapon was called Nemesis. Goddess of Retribution.” He breathed as he cast his sorrowful eyes downward.

“That’s right! So freaking bad ass! It all makes so much sense now. Like she took back the night as the goddess of the night, with her instrument of retribution. Were all the rumors true? I heard her eyes were always all these sorts of crazy colors or like blacked out. Damn, I love it.”

“I thought stopping certain things would satisfy Rey, but it only made it worse. She was a woman possessed and she just wouldn’t stop. As soon as one job was completed… it was onto the next. No breathing time… nothing was satisfying for long. It was insatiable. I mean, the whole thing was hot as hell. I had this strong, sexy and incredible woman at my side. We’d spend most of our time taking back what Snoke was trying to take away. Sometimes she’d back me up and I’d handle it, sometimes together, and sometimes I would let her have her fun and just wait somewhere off in the shadows, ready in case she needed me. We were a team. And when we weren’t doing that, we were falling into bed every goddamn chance we got. I mean, come on…it was every man’s dream. I was fighting and when I wasn’t fighting, we were…...” He trailed off as he attempted to push that lump down again.

Moments of them together were flashing before his heavy eyes, every lascivious detail. Flinching at the very thought of her hands on his bare body, the curve of her neck, the look in her eyes when she would fall to her knees in front of him to taste him, the inflection in her voice when she would moan his name – it all came rushing back like someone speedily flipping through the pages of a book. He couldn’t believe he was telling someone this, but he realized he had to continue and get this all out if he really wanted Hux’s help.

“She worked out and trained nonstop, and when she wasn’t doing that, she was planning the next job. She was so incredibly focused. All sorts of weapons and firearms training came as easy as breathing to her. When she had finished with learning one type of fighting style, she would want to move onto something else and then something else until she felt like she had complete control over herself. So that no one would ever hurt her like before. Aikido, Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Karate, Muay Thai, even some more mystical and mythic type stuff… all these conflicting ideologies—but she didn’t care. She thought studying them all made her more complete. It seemed to help her heal mentally at first, which I knew was important. She was haunted by that night and I thought if she felt in control- this would all stop. But it didn’t because once she felt she had control, she wanted more. There were even a couple times where she snuck out without me. Afterwards, I would ask her and she said she was just doing recon and talking to people, but I swear she was out there doing damage. It was an addiction in every sense of the word.”

Hux continued to listen as the words tumbled from Kylo’s lips like a dam had finally burst after years of unrelenting pressure.

“Finally, after all of these smaller jobs built up, we got an opportunity to take him down directly. I thought one more, and we’re done. We’ll finally take him down completely, this will be over and we can move past it together. We had found out that in his offices, there were a series of flash and hard drives that may have had evidence of his schemes. Everything from bribing high ranking officials down to money laundering. He had dossiers on criminals, people he murdered, client lists, kill lists, bank accounts, shell corporations. But, he was only holding it there until he could get these drives out of the country the next morning. They were supposed to be on a flight with one of his more trusted goons the following day. We thought if we could get our hands on just one of those drives, no matter what was on it—he would be put away forever. We had to try.”

“Of course.” Hux murmured softly.

“We had it all set up. There was an opportunity and she…we almost pulled it off, flawlessly. Planned brilliantly to the last detail. But at the end…things went sideways. We heard sirens. We were trying to get out.” His words were dis-jointed and staccato as he replayed it all in his head. Kylo furrowed his brow as his eyes flashed wildly. “We ran…...but we got separated. I didn’t want to leave her, but she said we had a better shot if we split up and then met back up. I kissed her for the last time and she ran off. I shouldn’t have left her. I know that now, but… at the time… there was no time. No time to argue, no time to even think. Now, I started thinking I was running in the wrong direction because I thought the police were closing in on me. The next thing I know, they start taking off in the other direction, screaming and yelling. I double backed, came back around and I see Rey getting thrown to the pavement. There had to be 30 police officers. There was nothing I could do.” He gulped, tears prickling from the corners of his dark eyes.

“Because the justice system makes no sense… she gets thrown in jail and all sort of charges were brought against her. For a while, I guess that was okay with Snoke because she was behind bars and no one would take the word of a felon. Let alone the word of someone who just committed crimes against him. The police even believed she has started this scheme of planting evidence and so his crimes weren’t even his own, just something made up by a sick woman. That this was all some elaborate trap because she was so desperate to entrap him. They actually believed she created a pile of fake evidence. I mean they were paid off, so of course they ‘thought’ that. The drives were never found, so I am sure someone on the police force was on his payroll and they pocketed them. Without those and with the corruption, we had nothing. She was sentenced. I couldn’t do anything. It was like a freight train that I couldn’t stop.”

“Jesus. Did you talk to her? See her? Why would you leave her?” Hux rapidly questioned.

“I had two seconds to make a decision! You have forever to sit there and tear it apart! I did what she told me to do!” Kylo gritted his teeth. He didn’t have to explain himself to anyone, let alone some hacker who never gets his actual hands dirty. What does he know?

“I’m sorry. It’s just... I don’t understand…” Hux stated curtly, tossing his hands in air. His smug tone hung in the air and Kylo wanted nothing more than punch that condescending look right off his face.

_God, he made it so difficult sometimes to be his friend._

Taking a breath to calm himself before continuing, Kylo began to speak once again. “After that I just figured that I screwed up her life enough and I should just do the only thing I knew how to do… so she could get her life back. Remove myself from it. I was the one who messed everything up… it was the only way I knew to fix it.”

“So you left her in there?” Hux scolded. “For her own good? You do realize that makes absolutely no sense, right?”

“At the time, it just did. I just felt so guilty. It was the only way I knew how to fix it. So when she got out… she could move on. Without all of this. I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“Kylo, for a bright guy, you can be pretty daft. Don’t you see what you did? You abandoned her.”

Kylo glared at Hux, displeased for pointing out the obvious.

_Don’t you ever stop talking?_

“In her eyes, you just left her there… like you didn’t care. Don’t you see? She literally had no one else from what you’ve told me about her and to just leave her in there like that? She was abandoned again, that’s twice alone by you, my friend. From the second she saw what she saw, she was in it. Her life wasn’t ever going to be the same. Not ever. You had to have known that. And you being in her life, or not being in her life wasn’t going to change that. She was made from that second on, before you even entered her orbit.”

Kylo mulls over Hux’s words, rubbing his temples and flicking the ash from his cigarette.

“Seriously, I think you are lucky she didn’t come after you and beat the crap out of you after she got out. You dealt her a cold hard one. Ouch.”

“Anyway, this is why I feel like I owe her.” Kylo quickly pivoted. He didn’t need a lecture on ethics or morals, especially from him. “My sources tell me that for whatever reason, Snoke has become obsessed with finding her again. I don’t know why yet, but he’s decided that the price on her head is back on. Maybe it was never really off and he just got distracted with other things for a while, I don’t know. I just know that I have to save her life. I know I did her wrong. And that’s why I’m going to follow Jax’s lead in Wyoming.”

“Fine… fine. I have an idea -- why don’t you go to Wyoming and I’ll go to New Orleans and I’ll call you when I find her. She’s never met me before, so even if she sees me, she won’t know who I am.”

“That’s a very big if.”

“Well it looks like she’s working two jobs down there actually, one is a tattoo parlor and the other seems to be a….. bar.” He trails off briefly. “I can go there and check them both out.” Hux suggested, taking a sip of his oversized energy drink.

“Fine, go. I expect I won’t hear from you while you are there.”

“You know she’s there… you have to face it.” Hux said pointedly, chugging down the rest of the energy drink before tossing it over his shoulder, clattering onto the cement floor.

“Maybe I’m not ready to.” Kylo’s whispered under this breath. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspo:
> 
> Sanctified - Nine Inch Nails  
> Angel- Massive Attack  
> Battleflag - Lo Fidelity Allstars  
> Breathe - The Prodigy  
> Kinda I want to - Nine Inch Nails  
> The End is The Beginning is the End - Smashing Pumpkins
> 
> Basically anything on the NIN's Pretty Hate Machine album for Rey's transformation. It's a constant for her character.


	7. Chop and Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so i know last time I said we would go back to the present time line, but a thing happened and basically now, I lied.
> 
> I got this in my head and just had to get it out. I thought it might flow better to show Hux's little journey and a glimpse into what's to come. I know, I know. I will get to the bedroom smut next chapter.
> 
> Sorry for being super specific about the music in this chapter, I just had this SO vivid in my mind that the only way I could do it justice was to just go for it.

The air was downright oppressive even in the earlier hours, the promise of another scorching day hanging in the dense, stagnant air. The waves of heat rose off the streets in New Orleans like flames from a scorching inferno. Hux swore that if he didn’t find the building he was looking for soon, his brain would surely be fried like an egg on a hot skillet.

For the better part of the morning, Hux had been walking around the city, looking at papers, cross referencing a map and squinting his eyes in the bright haze of the sun. He knew had located Rey, now he just had to prove it to Kylo.

At what felt like long last, Hux came upon a side street with a black and blue sign for a Tattoo Parlor called ‘Haunted Soul’. Exhaling deeply, Hux walked closer and closer to the building. It was just like any of the others on the street, except this one clearly displayed some of the local influence. Intricate designs in white were scrawled over the doorway which Hux was almost certain were Hoodoo symbols. Glancing downwards at the threshold, he spied red brick dust and he knew he was correct.

A jack-of-all-trades, Hux always prided himself on knowing a little bit about lots of different and unusual things. Magic, hokum, roots, whatever you wanted to call it had always fascinated him. He knew that brick dust was an old practice tracing back to the Voodoo Queen herself and quite frankly, most likely back further than that. The story went, that if you laid red brick dust down by your door’s threshold, evil couldn’t enter.

Thoughtfully smirking, Hux hoped that the spirits were indeed with Rey and could protect her from the evil man that was undeniably pursuing her.

With the tinkle of a bell, Hux opened the door and crossed over the threshold. Deep reds and black, skulls, chandeliers and all matter of spooky décor enveloped the waiting area of the shop. A reception desk and a few chairs were placed around the waiting area that fed into a long hallway. Classic Led Zeppelin rock flowed from the speakers, completing the setting.  
  


“Hey, there… be right witcha.” A woman’s voice lilted from obscurity, somewhere down the hallway. “Do you have an appointment? Normally we don’t have an artist in for a while…” the voice continued as a woman walked up the darkened hallway and reached the reception desk. Steel blue eyes met warm honey hazel.

Rey. He knew it instantly.

It’s Rey, although... it’s far from any pictures he saw of Rey. Long, straight hair jet black with bright purple highlights spattered within have replaced her soft, chestnut brown tresses. Hux scanned her, mentally storing all of her new attributes. Her make up was dark and exaggerated but classy, ripped jeans over a black INXS tee-shirt hugged her frame. Black fingernails, silver jewelry and the slightest dash of danger radiated from her.

She looked good. This look suited her.

New Orleans suited her.

“Oh sugar, you look lost.” She snickered.

“Oh, um, hello. I would like to buy a tattoo.”

“You want to ‘buy’ a tattoo?” she asked incredulously, cocking an eyebrow at the red haired man before her. “We won’t hold any sessions with an obviously intoxicated person. Come back when you get sober.” She huffed, slightly annoyed.

“I’m not drunk. I’m sorry. I’ve just never done this before.” Hux stammered mortified , yanking his ballcap off his head. “I… I came down here to New Orleans for my friends 30th birthday and I’m in charge of finding the plans for the weekend and I… I thought that this might be something fun to you know.. surprise him with.” He rambled. “I uh, came down a few days early... to you know... get everything set up… so this would be for tomorrow. Yeah, um... tomorrow...” Rey could feel the nervous energy radiating off of him.

_‘What was this nerd’s deal?’_

“Surprise him with a tattoo? Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I mean... wild night, drinking, bars...girls… tattoos... isn’t that what New Orleans is about? Right?”

“Tourists. Jesus Christ.” Rey sighed, muttering under her breath. “Look, if you want to show your friend a good time, I’ll tell you where to go. If you want, I can pencil him in with someone. I can check who is available.” Rey offered, grabbing the massive, black appointment book from behind the desk and letting it thud onto the counter.

“Really? That would be great. I just... they put me in charge of this and there’s like all this pressure.”

“Okay….” Rey chuckled. “Where ya from?” she asked, paging through the book. 

“Ohio?”

“Ohio? You don’t sound so sure.” Rey questioned.

_‘Something does not feel right here.’_ She thought.

“Yes, um, Ohio. Sorry. I’m just nervous.” Hux gulped, offering a slight smile.

“You are a long way from home…” Rey’s eyes scanned the book and found a slot for the man as Hux beamed back.

“Now, if ya’ll come back between 9 and 10 Thursday night I can get you in with Jared. He does beautiful work, tons of experience with first timers.” 

“Oh, you, you wouldn’t be the person tattooing... my... um, friend?”

“No, no I just do the books. I’m not an artist by any means. You wouldn’t want to see my try and draw a stick figure! I keep the books, take care of the building and supplies during the days here and I have other jobs at night- ones that don’t require any drawing skills.” She snorted. “Gotta make those ends meet.” She shrugs, tucking a lock of black hair behind her ear.

Hux’s internal monologue spun in a dizzying whirl. ‘It’s alright.’ He soothed himself. ‘I’ll just follow her tonight and try to figure out which place she works at which night. I could have sworn I only saw two places listed though…...’ he shakes his head. He’s taking too long to respond; she’s going to know something is wrong. ‘Speak, you fool!’

“It’s just um, I was hoping we could get a beautiful woman to…. for his... birth—oh boy this is coming out all wrong. I was just put in charge of showing him this great time and he just broke up with his girlfriend... so we thought...” Hux trailed off.

_He couldn’t do this! Who was he kidding?_

“Ok…” Rey drawled, screwing her face up into a puzzled expression.

“Yeah… And I thought you… would be a good distraction?” he concluded sheepishly.

“Well, I’m flattered. But like I said, you wouldn’t want me tattooing anything on anyone. I can get you set up with Rose instead, ok? She’s great. She’s new, but does beautiful work and is a total spitfire. Your friend will like her spirit. She's got the fire.”

“Ok, that would be great!”

“Alright, looks like she has time at nine in the evening. That alright?”

“That works! Thank you so much. I’m sorry. I didn’t even introduce myself. My name is Patrick.” Hux offered his hand to her and Rey took it, wrapping around his with a muted power.

“Nice to meet you, Patrick. I’m Wynter with a y.”

Working his magic, Hux discovered that Rey’s other job was possibly at some sort of nightspot called ‘Rebel Rebel’ on Bienville Street in the city. Now that he had established where she was during the day, he needed to nail down her evening routine. Before calling Kylo, Hux followed his reconnaissance plan by visiting the club that same night. That way, no matter what time Kylo finally arrived, Hux would know exactly where to find her.

Hux knew the rules of course – he made them. That’s how he was so good. 

Don’t ask questions. Don’t talk to anyone. Vary your patterns to stay within your cover. Stay alert. Keep all options open or you are as good as caught. Color contacts go a long way. Dress as unassuming as possible without looking obvious; there was a fine line after all. Those were the keys to getting in and out without detection or suspicion. The golden rules, as he liked to call them.

_Be a chameleon, adjust, adapt. That was the absolute fucking cornerstone of it all._

Muffled, pulsing music shook the pavement in front of ‘Rebel Rebel’ when Hux arrived later that night. Spanning two store fronts, Hux could now deduce that ‘Rebel Rebel’ looked like two separate clubs with neon signs situated above either doorway. Sitting over one door, “REBEL” screamed out in large, fiery red print and the other displayed “rebel” in lowercase, royal blue lettering. The color of each door corresponded with the neon lights above it, reminding Hux of the ‘choose your adventure’ style books he read as a child.

“Two different clubs, sweetheart. Two different vibes. Choose.” The bouncer growled at Hux.

A force unlike anything he had ever felt seemed to almost clutch at his legs and yank him onto some sort of conveyor belt towards one side. Hux chose the blue ‘rebel’ door, or rather, it chose him. Swinging the door open, he was subsequently almost knocked off his feet by the unbarred vibrations of the music.

This part of the club was a true nightclub in every sense of the word. Pounding music, cobalt blue pulsing club lights ripping through the dark and beautiful, eccentric people packed everywhere. A bar was situated at the far end of the club, (not that Hux had a chance anytime soon of making it through the horde of people packed into the space) and a few platforms were sporadically placed throughout the dance floor and along the perimeter of the space. A blood red door was situated against the wall with the text: “ _ **Change your stars: THE DARK SIDE**_ ” scrawled across it. Hux gathered that this door led you into the next part of the club.

He couldn’t fault them for inventiveness.

Gorgeous dancers gyrated from their perches, keeping the masses below locked into the spell of the music. His trained, steel blue eyes obscured by emerald green contacts scanned the space; which he admitted was at times, far too dark to definitively make out people’s features until you were right up against them. The throbbing baseline pulsed against Hux’s feet as he began to slowly drift through the space, attempting to make it seem like he had no clear point he was trying to get to. As he shifted through the crowd, he began to sway his head and shoulders to the beat, feigning dancing to blend in. He would start with checking the platforms before he moved back to the bar to try and locate Rey. Hux was certain she was working tonight – it was just a matter of where. He wove his way around, checking every pedestal along the way. Periodically, he would catch the gaze of stunning woman and hold her stare with his own magnetic gaze, a complete contradiction of the character he played earlier in the day. His nerdy façade had melted into a confident, mysterious and experienced partier, dressed head to toe in black club clothes.

**Be a chameleon.**

Hux continued moving, stopping moment to moment to sway against the entrancing women in the crowd.

**Blend in.**

_First platform – It’s a man. That’s a no._

_Second platform - Woman, bald, but at least 6 feet tall. Way too tall to be her._

_Third platform – shorter girl, strawberry blonde hair. Definitely a wig. Round face. I don’t think this is her, but I have to get in closer. Nope, definitely not her, she’s barely pushing five feet tall._

Without a thought of which path to take next, Hux let out a sigh and turned his head into the opposite direction.

_‘Gonna follow the light to the love, gonna follow the light to the love….’_ Hux heard the voice through the speakers and his feet followed the feeling he had. It was almost as if the music was speaking to him.

_‘Gonna follow the light to the love, gonna follow the light to the love….’_ The singer kept repeating as the music kept building and building.

An otherworldly feeling washed over him as he mouthed the words along with the song and moved across the room, slowly weaving in and around the dancing bodies.

_‘Gonna follow the light to the love, gonna follow the light to the love….’_

Hux could hear his own breathing in his ears somehow over the volume as he grew closer to the dancer across the room. The singer repeating the lines over and over, almost gearing up for the inevitable climax of the song.

“Gonna follow the light…..”

Hux let out a huge breath, his feet stilled and he raised his head to look above him.

“to the love.”

Rey.

She was gorgeous.

As the music spun out of control, he moved even closer to her pedestal to confirm what he already knew. There was Rey on the go-go platform, lost in the spell of the music, swirling her hips and swaying to the frenzied beat. She wore a sheer, long sleeved black crop top over tiny black shorts. Velvety black stars obscured her breasts from complete view, but the crooked, opaque stars left little to the imagination. Hux’s gaze was locked onto her lascivious form, feeling his mouth beginning to water at the very sight of her performance. In that moment, he understood how Kylo fell for her. Lengthy, jet black hair provocatively fell back against her face and chest as she threw her head to the beat. 

A tremor shot down Hux’s spine at the action and he instantaneously knew why she had been hired. If he didn’t have a job to do, he would have stayed there and danced all night. Her energy and seductiveness kept his feet firmly cemented to the dance floor with absolutely zero plans to leave the club. Rey was captivating and the way she moved her body was infectious.

Rey jolted her head in Hux’s general direction as she moved to the beat and Hux was snapped out the trance, turning his back to her just in time. Without glancing backwards, he moved through the crowd until he reached the back of the bar where the restrooms and manager’s office was located.

_‘Zorii Bliss’ Manager_ the closed door read.

Almost a cosmic intervention, the door swung open and a graceful, leggy brunette woman dressed in purple strode out of the office. Hux quickly brought his flip phone to his ear and began a fake conversation with the nothingness on the other end before Zorii had a chance to even glance in his general direction.

“Where are you guys? I’ve been waiting here! The club is insane tonight! Hurry up!” he yelled into the phone, keeping his head down while she moved past him.

Before the door had a chance to close, Hux could see there was no one left inside. It clicked into place before he could act, but it was no matter.

Scanning the situation, he noticed that there was a keypad lock instead of a standard key lock on the door.

Perfect.

Smirking before reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a favorite gadget of his. A small pinfinder device that would give you the numeric passcode to virtually any numeric lock. Hux held the device over the lock, obtained the code and was inside the office before anyone was the wiser.

Scanning the room, he saw what he needed, a cocky feeling rising within him. Hux snapped a photo, left the room and exited the club, free and clear.

Breaking out into the night air, Hux smiled as he reviewed his most recent photo.

The employee schedule for both sides of the Rebel Rebel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do we think? Do we like Rebel Rebel? Do we like sort-of-suave clubby Hux? (Think Harley Quinn's club outfit in the new BOP movie for Rey's Rebel Rebel club shirt.)
> 
> Any ideas about what is on the other side of that red door? Will Hux report back to Kylo? Would Kylo even come if he did?
> 
> Song Inspo:
> 
> Bowie - Rebel Rebel  
> Unkle - Restless  
> The Black Keys - Chop and Change  
> Doja Cat - Boss Bitch  
> The Prodigy - Breathe  
> Susanne Sundfør - White Foxes  
> Johnny Farmer - Death Letter (Organized Noize Remix) (The Skeleton Key song)  
> AC/DC- Thunderstruck
> 
> As always, stuff is just for inspo- I own nothing! 
> 
> I work without a beta, so I apologize for mistakes and spaces are just to be easier on your eyes! :)


	8. Fade Into You.....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey there my lovelies! The coronavirus quarantine has my anxiety spiking and as a result, I've tried to channel it into writing! And to keep my promise in returning us back to Kylo's bedroom!  
> This chapter has been especially hard as it's my first attempt at full-on smut. Please be kind, but if you liked it, please drop a kudo or like! I was having major writers block writing this chapter as there are SO many stellar writers in this fandom, it made me feel so intimidated! I knew what I wanted to write, but felt like it wouldn't be enough, ya know? I toiled and just decided to put it out into the universe and let it go...so we could continue on with the story! I hope to get better with it!
> 
> What do we think? What the heck is going on with these random occurrences? What does Kylo "think" he knows?  
> I also tried posting a moodboard, but it's not working so, FML.

Kylo’s room was considerably larger than Rey realized. It was strange how the mind could play tricks, leading her to believe the building was much smaller than it actually was.

_‘My sense of perception was WAY off.’_ She thought.

The raging storm outside pelted at the same industrial warehouse windows lining the far wall and to the left was a doorway that led to a spacious bathroom; complete with what looked like some sort of elaborate shower. Something to investigate later, she thought.

The room was sparse, a desk and a dresser lined the left wall and to the right, in the center was quite possibly the largest bed Rey had ever seen – which seemed to be Kylo’s current destination. The only light in the entire room was the soft glow radiating off a grouping of candles on the nightstand next to his bed.

_Just when in the hell did those get lit?_

Rey very quickly decided that in the grand scheme of things and against what was happening right now, something like candles hardly mattered. Kylo’s bed was everything she imagined it to be; red pillows and a black comforter hastily thrown over black sheets.

Black, satin sheets. 

Black sensuous, opulent satin sheets.

Keeling down, he delicately placed Rey on the corner of the slightly unmade bed. Kylo released his grip from underneath her, one hand slid to rest on her knee and the other deliciously cradled the back of her neck. She wanted to stay forever in this moment, with him looking at her like _that_ and feeling the perfect sensation of his hand possessively, yet tenderly clasping the nape of her neck. It made her feel _alive._

Rey stared longingly back into his warm, dark eyes, cupping his cheek. His eyes followed his fingers as they danced over a strand of her hair. Rey cracked a shy smile as she leaned in closely and ghosted her lips over his. Her breath swirled against his mouth, and Kylo’s own breathing became labored, thick with apprehension.

_‘No, don’t you dare do that. Do not get inside your own head again, you are not taking advantage of me. I want this.’_ She thought.

Rey leaned down towards his full lips once more, gently tucked her hand behind his head and began to draw his plush mouth to hers.

“Dare.” She whispered low and slow, waiting for him to close the gap between them. Kylo wasted no time responding to the taunt and crushed his lips against hers.

Tingles rippled through Kylo’s lips and in one swift motion, he moved onto the bed, pulling Rey onto his lap without breaking the kiss. Even though she was in his lap, pressing as close to him as possible, he wanted more.

It was a fascinating feeling to miss something so much that you already had at that moment.

He moaned against her mouth as her lips playfully caressed his and their kisses, while staying slow and deep grew more and more intense, both reveling in every movement.

Kylo gently lifted the hem on Rey’s shirt, sending it over her head before tossing it on the bed beside them. Her hair fell back against her shoulders, sending a chill down her spine while Kylo drank her in. She thanked the gods she had selected the black, lacy halter-style bralette she was wearing. Although her body was riddled with injuries, it at least made her feel somewhat normal.

Kylo exhaled sharply in awe and he could sense she was a bit self-conscious due to the state her body was in. Riddled with bruises in various shades of healing, cuts that were still mending and angry scrapes splattered over her body, Rey suddenly felt un-emboldened and encircled herself with her arms, almost as if to shield herself from his view. Kylo’s smoldering gaze raked over her frame and failed to find one single, solitary reason for her to feel that way.

Her bare, slender legs. Her strong, lean arms. Her perfect breasts, he couldn’t stop looking.

She was so strong and beautiful that it left him absolutely stunned.

“Goddamn it, woman.” He growled.

His lustful eyes flashed up to capture hers and he whispered an answer to her thoughts, “No. You are the most gorgeous creature I have ever seen in my life.”

Rey felt herself melt into him as her lips met his again and she subsequently let her arms fall from her frame.

_Coffee. Smoke. Fresh Rain._

She would never tire of that delicious scent. Of him.

Lightly and sweetly her fingertips caressed his cheek, while the other played with the hair at the base of his neck. Kylo could feel that desire bubbling up inside him once again, blood draining from his face and he knew exactly where it was going instead. They both felt him stiffen against her and Rey took that as her sign to keep going. She gently reached underneath his shirt and glided it upwards, coaxing him to remove it. Kylo complied in what Rey thought was quite possibly the most sensual thing she had ever witnessed in her entire life. The cords of muscle in his upper body moved and flexed, all while maintaining absolutely unwavering, erotic eye contact with her. A warm pulse rippled through her center, crying out for pressure, throbbing with want. Who knew a simple act like this could emit so much damn heat within her?

_‘Fuck.’_ She thought _._

Rey gazed at the collection of scars that peppered his bare chest. Her hands glided over the lean muscle she found there, tracing the scars and wishing she could kiss away the pain these wounds had undoubtedly caused him.

And so, she does.

She presses her lips tenderly to a large scar on his shoulder and Kylo all but growls at the exquisite contact. The constellations of scars are a map of his past – one that Rey desperately wanted to unlock and decipher in that moment. She pulled back and pressed another soothing kiss to a small scar on the top of his shoulder, a weighted exhale escaping Kylo’s lips. Rey’s passionate eyes fanned down his back and the only sound shattering the silence was a sharp intake of breath.

Mystified, Rey exhales while her hazel eyes take in the massive collection of black glyph tattoos curving down Kylo’s back and spine.

The intense and beguiling work of art runs along the planes of his back, clutching and curving, moving with the lines of his corded muscle, practically begging to be touched.

Rey’s questioning eyes meet Kylo’s for moment and at the lack of response, Rey immediately shifts to crouch behind him to fully absorb the masterpiece etched across his back. Tracing her fingers over the obsidian lines, peppering kisses along the way, Rey exhaled a jagged breath against his skin. Her mind then realizes a tattoo this massive must have been absolutely excruciating to complete, until her sense of touch betrays his secret and interrupts her thoughts. She can feel the scarred tissue under the black lines and it hits her like one of the bolts of angry, forked lightning outside.

_‘There are scars under all of these symbols. He covered up his scars with these tattoos.’_

_‘What in the actual hell happened to him?’_

Her heart swells and almost breaks for him right then and there. 

“Baby…” is all Rey can manage to gasp, with her breathing uneven and her heart full of compassion for what he must have endured. 

_Someday we’ll get to that story…_

Desperate to soothe him, Rey pressed her chest to his back allowing her arms to snake over and roam over his carved chest. He felt electricity sparking everywhere her fingers touched. Rey slithered back to sit in front of Kylo, and just like that night on the roof, she traced her index and middle finger against the top of his pants, teasing and testing.

In one quick movement, he snaked his arm around her waist and lifted her up towards the top of the bed, positioning her onto her back. He stretched his long body out against hers. Gazing into her eyes, Kylo locked their fingers together as he gingerly shifted some of his weight down on top of her, trying to ensure he didn’t hurt her. The delectable pressure elicited a moan from Rey’s throat, giving Kylo all the approval he needed. A slow pulse between Rey’s legs continued to thrum deliciously and spiked at the feeling of Kylo’s hard body against hers. This was a unique and exquisite torture she could only brand as simply Kylo. She had never experienced anything like this before. He had barely touched her, and she was already slick with want.

“God, you even smell amazing.” he murmured into the crook of her neck, his hands knotting in her hair as he breathed in the intoxicating scent of freesia, rose and jasmine that radiated from her smooth skin.

“Baby,” she pleaded, her skin aching to be touched. She could feel his hard body against hers, and she rolled her hips against him, more than eager to quench this thirst.

“Are you sure? Do you want this?” he purred against her throat, licking and nipping between ragged breaths.

“Yes, I want you. All of you.” She replied breathily as Kylo’s palms pressed against the sides of her abdomen, stealthily descending lower. Her body quaked with want, nerves and anticipation.

“I’ve got you, baby.” He practically growled against her lips, while his lips pulled upwards into a slightly devilish smirk. The tone of his voice awakened something deep within her and she knew right then and there that there was nothing else she wanted, no one else she wanted it with for the rest of her life. This, what they had together, was what she wanted. Bad fortune be damned, if this is what came out of it, it was all worth it. Every single solitary bit of it.

Kylo’s lips continued tenderly moving against hers, his tongue rolling against hers as his hand moved down to palm her warm center.

Rey panted at the sensation as Kylo began to move his fingers against the thin piece of fabric, teasing and caressing her tenderly. He abruptly moved his hands away and Rey almost cried out at the loss of contact, until she felt both of his hands travel upwards, loop into the black fabric and tug downwards, removing it.

Almost magnetically, his hand began trailing back down her slowly, her body arching off the bed and bending to his touch. His hand moved back to her warm center, pulling a gasp from her throat as he moved a single digit through her soaked folds. The pad of his finger circled her gently before pushing forward and inside her slickness and Rey sighed at the delicious feeling before a second finger joined. She moaned as Kylo’s fingers began moving inside her, a slow and decadent torture. A gorgeously slow build began to expand inside her while his tongue moved from her mouth, down her jawline and to her neck as throaty moans escaped, spurning him on. The heel of his hand pressed against her center in just the perfect spot as he moved his fingers and a throaty cry of his name fell from her lips.

“Oh, Kylo, yes.” She cried, her hands fisting into the sheets. She was on a high of ecstasy and pure sin when Kylo abruptly tore his fingers from her center. She wanted to cy out and scream at him and tell him to keep going, but when she opened her eyes, she saw his staring back at hers, dripping not with lust, but with tenderness, passion, dare she say something that looked a lot like love. Not that she ever had someone look at her like that, but that look matched with the very feeling blooming within her chest, she gambled to hope. When she looked in his eyes, she felt safe. And that – _that_ was everything.

Kylo moved himself downwards to the floor and dragged her legs to the edge of the bed. He positioned himself between them and cocked a dark eyebrow back at her. Running his hands along her legs, he gently caressed them before he turned his head to press his lips to the inside of her thigh. He slid his index finger along her slit before circling around the sensitive bundle of nerves and Rey practically jolted off the bed.

When Rey watched Kylo’s mouth nip along her inner thigh, she knew where he was headed and instantly tensed. Kylo sensed her hesitation and immediately stopped.

“Sweetheart, you okay?” he breathed.

“It’s just, no one ever…I don’t…” she began to stammer, now more nervous than ever. Rey wasn’t a virgin, but she hadn’t had many partners, let alone giving ones. They always took and never gave, if she was putting it mildly, even ones she hadn’t slept with. So now, to have this gorgeous man kneeling before her, it was a little overwhelming to say the least. But this wasn’t sex, like boys had tried before with her. No, this, this was something different. This was making love and she wanted that—with him.

“Hey, it’s alright. We don’t have to do that.” He soothed.

“No, it’s okay… slow? Go slow?” she breathed, her lips fitting into a tight, apprehensive smile.

“It’s alright, I’ve got you. I’ll stop whenever you want me to. We’ll start slow.” Rey nodded, still scared, still overwhelmed, but willing to try. Willing to trust him.

If Rey thought the feeling of his hands on her was something, it was absolutely nothing compared to his mouth. His tongue passed over her center slowly, methodically, carefully. He was determined to take his time and give her what she deserved as long as she would allow him. Her entire body felt like it was electrified, like a live wire coming loose from a lighting rig during a concert. Sparks lit up from underneath her skin and coursed throughout her, pooling at her center. She had never felt a connection like this before and she knew this was only the beginning.

“Oh my god. Please don’t stop.” She pleads, twisting her hands further into the sheets. “I… I…. Kylo…” Rey loses her train of thought as Kylo’s artful tongue continues it’s assault on her most intimate part.

The pressure is mounting to a heavenly level as Kylo begins to suck on the bundle of nerves there. Adding his fingers, he begins to trace slow circles before building to firm strokes. He flicks his tongue once, twice, three times and Rey thinks she might see stars again – like after their first kiss.

Rey’s vision spins, her body drawn tighter and tighter until with a guttural sigh, she finds her release. From behind her eyes, white, sizzling bursts of luminesce split through the room with Rey’s moans echoing behind, while something on the desk across the room quietly tips over and rolls onto the floor.

“God. Damn.” She panted as Kylo cleaned himself up and moved back from her.

‘ _Did something just move?_ ’ he thought before shaking it off and returning his attentions to Rey.

Even though she had just found her release, all it seemed to do was make her want him even more. “Apology halfway accepted.” She grinned, saucy and blissed out.

Kylo smirked, “That okay, darlin’?”

“More than just okay. Get over here.” She breathed, beckoning him to her. “You need to finish it.”

“Well, yes ma’am.” He chuckled.

Sitting up to meet him, both of their hands flew up to one another, Kylo taking her face in his hands as Rey began to make quick work of his pants. Falling into a pile on the floor, Kylo was left in nothing but his boxers and Rey essentially moaned as she drank him in. As she took him in, she now fully comprehended just how incredibly in shape he was, how tall and broad he was and just how large that bulge in his boxers was. The lighting flashed wildly, lighting up the room and casting a haunting glow onto Kylo’s chiseled frame. Rey had never felt a need like this before, blistering from the tips of her toes to the tips of each strand of her hair.

Rey swiped her finger downwards, a silent command for him to remove his boxers and join her and he quickly complied, palming himself and sending his most scorching gaze her way.

A sharp intake of breath later at the sheer size of him, Kylo was slowly descending onto her, pressing her back into the lavish bed beneath them. Rey swore that if he didn’t enter her soon, she was going to come again, just from the way he was looking at her. She was desperate to feel him inside her, stretching her and making her his.

Kylo tumbled into a gentle, deep kiss. Losing himself completely, he felt his body soften at her very touch. Each roll of her devious tongue descended him further and further into decadence. His callused fingers snaked their way between the silky pillow and the back of Rey’s neck, holding her there as he began to scrape and grind his powerful body against hers.

While Kylo’s stiffness moved against her, his lips began to travel downwards until he reached Rey’s breasts. Before Rey could even catch her breath from the heat of the kisses, Kylo had quickly and skillfully removed the black lace bra and tossed it onto the floor. Shuddering in pleasure, Rey moaned as Kylo’s insatiable tongue glided over her. She hummed in delight as Kylo kissed and licked her décolletage. The sensation of his scorching tongue traveling over her exposed skin was delicious and for a moment, it even made Rey forget about the fresh scars there. His full lips engulfed a nipple as his large hand massaged the other. Switching between kissing and licking and sucking at each of her breasts, Rey’s head swam in the incredible sensations as she screwed her eyes shut. 

Rey was quickly starting to become undone under his touch. 

Kylo continued his hedonistic assault on Rey’s body, she arched her back and let out a breathy sigh. Kylo grazed his teeth over her nipple before letting it go with a decadent pop as his soft lips retracted. He quickly turned his attention to the other breast, taking it into his mouth with a renewed appetite all while still moving and grinding his body against hers. Swirling his tongue over her nipple, the wet, hot sensation of his mouth on her draws another moan from her. Rey’s eyes closed again as she arched into him, taking a cue from his book and pressing her core into him with an even more intense hunger. Her pulse raced out of control, heat rose throughout her and as her throat went dry, her rasps of his name became almost guttural.

“Say it again.” His dark tone commanded, thunder rumbling and shaking the panes of glass on the windows. “Say it.”

Rey knew intuitively what he wanted to hear.

“I want you.” She purred. Those words lit a spark in Kylo as he simultaneously captured Rey in a heated, wet kiss while trying to reach something on the nightstand.

“Clean. Implant.” She breathed between kisses. “If you don’t want to….”

“Me too. Okay.”

Tenderly glancing down at Rey, his breath heavy and uneven, he moved a loose strand of her hair out of her eyes.

“I’m so goddamned lucky…” he whispered.

Tonight, his evolving eyes were coffee browns wrapped in whiskey, holding her hostage while he conveyed a thousand emotions through them. They didn’t even have to speak. Rey simply knew everything he wanted to say in that moment, and she reflected those same feelings back to him. Reason number 867 of why Rey knew this was different; moments like this.

Shaking with anticipation, Kylo’s knees encouraged hers to part, as he lined himself with her entrance. With one last glance, he began to gently push into her as satisfied whimpers tumbled from her lips. The stretch was exquisite, and for a moment Rey was worried she wouldn’t be able to take him all. Because then that would be a complete sin, to not experience the complete extent of him; hot and thick and practically made to be inside her. Recapturing her lips, he pushed further into her, straight to the hilt and pausing while they both adjusted to the fullness. Kylo gave her a moment to relax completely into him before searching her eyes for permission to move.

“Yes.” She whispered and Kylo slowly rocked his hips, allowing Rey’s body to adjust. He moved them once more and Rey’s eyes rolled back, her mouth falling open, groaning at the feeling.

“Ohmygod…” Rey cried out.

“You okay?”

“More than okay, so good. You’re so big.” She panted between breaths.

Kylo captured her lips once more, a confident smirk forming on his lips. Having her say something like that, he might as well come right then and there.

Steadily they created a downright heavenly rhythm and Kylo continued thrusting into her, each time increasing the pace and pressure. Her hands grasped at his shoulders, clutching with all her strength as her rocked into her, her nails raking down his back.

“Baby, you feel so incredible, so wet for me.” Emboldened, Rey hooked her leg around his backside, pulling him down even closer and even further inside. The new pressure caused Kylo to moan as his head snapped up and back while he continued to pound into her. Rey began to move and roll her hips too, matching him thrust for thrust, every cell within her body crying out for more, for him to never, ever stop.

Their bodies grew hot and glossed with sweat as they continued to move, his eyes bore into hers, producing more heat than both of their bodies combined. Climbing and climbing, Rey shuddered as the powerful yet tender movements from Kylo’s body sent her closer and closer to the edge. She feels like he has reduced her to nothing more than just simply currents of passion and pleasure, ebbing and flowing, flowing and flowing.

She can’t hold back an ocean for long.

“Goddamn it, woman. You are so tight.” He gritted, his thrusts becoming even quicker and stronger. Rey sighed his name in response, the tension within her wrenching tighter and tighter.

The feeling of him on top of her, enjoying her body, the scent of his skin, the sweat covering their bodies as they writhed against one another, it was too much for Rey to take. She wasn’t going to last long, not with him pushing against her like this, making her appreciate the true meaning of ecstasy, something she had never, ever felt before in her life.

“Kylo, I’m... close.” She cried, as she felt herself about to descend over the edge.

“I want to see you come undone for me. Let go, baby. I’m right there with you. Give in to me. Need all of you. I fucking need you, Rey.” He whispered against her hot skin.

And that was all it took.

The pulsating feeling exploded into a volcanic eruption inside her, her walls fluttering and throbbing around him, clenching against him. Desperate to find his own release, Kylo’s thrusts became quicker and uneven as he felt his own vision about to turn black with pleasure.

As the waves of pleasure continued to wash over her, Rey screamed his name and he lost control, spilling deep and hard inside her, while chanting her name like a prayer almost in time with the crashing thunder outside. Through his panting, Kylo heard the door to his room abruptly snap shut, the clang muffled by her cries.

_Did she just? Did she do that?_

_First the thoughts in my head the other day, that sound across the room and now this. It was definitely her._

He smiled before completely surrendering himself to the gorgeous ecstasy pulsating throughout him.

_I knew it._

As he came down from his high, he moved from atop her, falling back onto the bed, joining Rey in staring up at the ceiling, desperately trying to catch their breath.

“You. Oh my god, you…. Fucking incredible. I’ve never felt anything like that before.” He panted.

“Wow.” She agreed, struggling to calm her racing heartbeat. “Me neither. Never felt like this before.” she smiled as they both turned their heads to glance into each other’s eyes. 

There Rey found her home and he, he found his peace at long last.

“C’mere.” He whispered, pulling her body into his, her face snuggling into his chest.

They were both blissed out, happy and exhausted, but after what he just saw Rey do, he knew he had found his twin spirt. Even if she hadn’t known what she had done, he would help her. She would need a teacher.

For now, he was satisfied to stay wrapped up with her in his bed, listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing, lulling him into contentment as the storm raged on outside.

“Apology accepted.” She whispered.

“Where the hell have you been all my life?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspo:
> 
> "Fade into You" - Mazzy Star  
> "Outside the Realm" - Big Giant Circles  
> "Scorn" - Portishead  
> "Angel" - Massive Attack  
> "Come Undone" - Duran Duran


	9. The Devil Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey there my lovelies!
> 
> As with most of my writing, I have a clear idea, write and toil, get too hard on myself and then am too scared to hit publish.  
> I'm just releasing this into the Realm so we can move forward.  
> Here, we explore the morning after and get to the start of where our Rey realizes her badassery and gets ready to take that prick Snoke down.
> 
> And away we go............................

“Ok, ok, but how did you get the elevator to work?” Rey asked breathily, her body entwined with Kylo’s, a sheet draped hastily around them.

“That’s hard wired to a separate line and there is a backup generator, you know.” He snickered.

Rey snorted and blissfully snuggled deeper into Kylo’s chest, listening to the rain outside that just did not want to let up. The tinkling sound of the rain against the windows, Kylo's steady breathing, his arms encircling her and holding her tight, it was the most soothing thing Rey had ever experienced.

“I hate to do this, but I need to use the bathroom for one quick second.” Rey whispered as the started to get up and head towards the bathroom. Kylo’s arm shot out grasping around her wrist.

“No, I’ve kidnapped you are you are stuck in this bed until I say so.” he pouted.

“Just one second!” she cried, playfully wrenching away from his grip and slinking into the bathroom, her legs still wobbly and her body exhausted.

Her bare feet padded against the cold, black tile as the lights slowly brightened the room to greet her. Passing a large black tiled shower fitted with chrome fixtures and a deep, spacious soaking tub, her glance traveled upwards, spotting the deep red glass chandelier that hung directly above the immersion tub. Spirals of ruby glass intricately twisted downwards creating an interesting orb shape. The bathroom was a true representation of her Angel- sleek with hard lines and undeniably sexy.

"Jesus Christ." She muttered in astonishment. The bathroom was beautiful, something she expected only to see in a magazine somewhere and was nowhere near as wonderful as the bathroom out in the main section of the house that she had been using. Sure, hers was nice and all, but it was nowhere near this luxurious. The walls were lined with larger grey tiles, each one at least three feet in length and width, creating an interesting and modern look.

“Ugh, he was holding out on me! I’d much rather use this tub….” She snickered. “well now I know it’s here… this bathroom is mine now, he can use the other one.”

Rey used the toilet, washed her hands and was drying them on a lush grey hand towel as she continued to scan the room. Setting the hand towel down, she felt the slightest movement of air across her neck.

“What the hell was that?” she whispered; her eyes wide.

Another wisp of air made itself known and Rey knew she wasn’t imagining it. Spying the air conditioning vent on the ceiling, she held her hand to it. Nothing. Looking around further against the back wall next to the vanity she noticed a slight gap in the tile.

‘A room this perfect has a flaw? Something isn’t right here.’ She thought. Rey tentatively reaches her arm over the tile, feeling and investigating.

A tiny puff of air moves across her hand and it instantly clicks in her mind.

_This is a door._

"I knew it." Rey whispered as triumphant smirk crossed her lips. "I knew something was behind his doors." She steps back slowly, her eyes now falling on the miniscule discoloration in the grout, slightly signaling the outline of a door.

_But how does it open?_

“Rey, come back to bed!” Kylo called out, his tone thick with suggestion.

“Coming!” Rey calls as she pulls her fingertips away from the large wall tiles, resolving that she will have to re-investigate later.

*

_Coffee._

The robust scent of smooth, rich roasted beans cut through the deepest sleep Rey had experienced in a long, long time. The warm and soothing aroma enveloped her senses as she deeply inhaled, comfort in scent form.

Her arm inches over to pull herself to what she undoubtedly believes is the source of this wave of contentment to find an empty space. Reaching further, her fingers graze against something, but it’s…. _wrong_.

It’s cool to the touch, the planes of the object are rounded and arched, not like the hardened muscle wrapped throughout Kylo’s body.

Sitting up sharply, her drowsy eyes finally focus, and she notices Kylo is gone.

Her still sleep filled, hazel eyes dart around the room until they land where Kylo should be sleeping next to her.

Where he belongs.

In his place was a Gibson Dreadnought Acoustic guitar. The most expensive looking guitar Rey has probably ever seen in person. Before Rey can even put a thought together, Kylo re-enters the room, steaming hot mugs of coffee clutched in his hands.

“Good Morning.” Kylo purrs.

“Mmmm… Morning.” She smiles as Kylo places a quick kiss to her lips before setting the coffee down on his nightstand. A wave of contentment washes over Rey, the feeling coursing from the tips of her toes to the ends of her eyelashes.

“Last night….” He begins.

“… was absolutely amazing.” Rey finished.

“Exactly.” Kylo smiled, his eyes bright and calm.

“I never knew it could be that……” Rey trailed off searching for the right words, but they simply failed her.

“Me neither.” Kylo breathed. “Rey, whatever this is,” he motioned between himself and her “I’m all in. You’re it for me. From now on… it’s us.” Kylo breathed as Rey nodded at his words, her eyes prickling with tears.

“Always.” She rapidly nodded, agreeing in kind.

“Always.” He avowed, his tone dark and thick. Rey could get lost in that voice; and just did as she gazed into his deep eyes; a balmy, gentle feeling washing over her.

“Kylo is this for me?” she whispers when she finally snaps out of her momentary trance.

“Well, it’s not for me…..” he begins.

“Kylo!” she breathed. “How did you? Where? Too risky!” she stammered, her words struggling to make it out coherently. “Seriously? You didn’t have to get me anything else, you already restarted my t-shirt collection and we had our night out. Wait, is this an apology gift? You know, you can’t just buy me a guitar every time you screw up. Even if it is the most beautiful one I have ever seen!” Rey sneered.

Kylo let out a low laugh. “Last night was just so goddamn good, I just had to get you something.” His grin reaching all the way to his whiskey toned eyes.

He is utterly beautiful like this, she decides. Smiling and relaxed - and she’ll do whatever she has to if she can keep seeing him smile. He looks years younger, less hardened and far less jaded. He is not what the years of his life had formed him to be. While she didn't know the specifics just yet, she knew that anyone that could have taken on three career henchmen didn't just get lucky. That took years of experience, training and a certain touch of darkness. But right now, the metaphorical weight on his shoulders lifted, his softness returned.

“No, no… I mean, yes, yes it was, but I was planning to give it you for your birthday, but then I screwed everything up and well kind of….. ruined that.”

“Yup, you did.” She giggled as Kylo rounded the bed to pick up the guitar. Her eyes followed Kylo’s sculpted body clad in low slung cotton pajama pants and a dark, worn t-shirt. Amidst her eagerness to play that big, beautiful guitar, a wave of fear washed over Rey’s excited face.

“But, wouldn’t this be too risky? A sale like this could tip them off to me being here.”

“Don’t worry. I used an alias… there’s no way he would know.” He assured her, holding the guitar out to her. “This way, you never have to stop making music.” His warm, honeyed tone soothed.

Knowing what the guitar would mean to her, knowing what all this was costing her, her emotions swirled and spun almost out of control.

_This man. He gets me. I’ve never had that before. And he’s mine._

Rey swallowed thickly as she took the guitar from his hands and perched herself into a playing position on the bed.

Her slim fingers feathered lightly over the chords and began to play the opening section of “She talks to Angels” by The Black Crowes. Each strum, each chord she played, each note she coaxed from the strings, it felt like her soul came alive; reemerging and reborn.

Kylo watched in awe as the morning light filtered through the industrial windows and onto her chocolate tresses, illuminating the multi-faceted color. As she played, she looked content, peaceful.

She was glowing.

‘Like an angel herself.’ Kylo thought.

“Kylo. Thank you.” She breathed as she stopped playing. “This is incredible. I don’t have the words.” She leaned over to kiss him and wondered how on earth she had found someone so thoughtful. Her years at the hands of Plutt had conditioned her into believing that she never deserved a tender word or even the slightest showing of kindness. She never knew what this could be like. To belong to someone, to have them genuinely care without a single motive, without deception and with all their heart. Maybe in time, she could in fact truly heal and realize she was worthy of love and was indeed someone special.

“I’m glad you like it.” Kylo smiled as he handed her a mug of coffee. Rey took a long sip and savored the scalding liquid as she swallowed and felt it warm her from the inside out.

“Now, judging by your stunning performance last night, I think we might be all set to begin training. What do you think? Are you ready to start?” Kylo asked.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Rey exclaimed vaulting off the bed. “Where do we begin?”

*

“Wait, are we leaving to go train?” Rey asked, stepping into the elevator. “I didn’t think that would be safe.” An hour after their delicious morning together, Rey has changed into her workout gear and is more than ready to begin. Unquestionably, indubitably and categorically ready to take that monster Snoke down. 

Whatever it takes.

“You’ll see.” Kylo assures her as the door closes behind him. He presses a series of buttons as Rey’s face twists in confusion, before finally slamming his fist against the emergency exit button.

The elevator opens, leading Rey into a space she didn’t even know existed.

_What in the fucking fuck?_

The floor directly below Kylo’s living area has been transformed into an elaborate training area. Exercise equipment, heavy bags and all sorts of boxing, MMA and other fighting equipment was spread throughout the one side of the vast space. Along the other, computer equipment and maps were stacked on heavy metal tables while an array of large, locked cabinets lined the walls. Bulky rolling mechanic style tool chests stood gleaming against the harsh florescent lights that lit the space. Rey noted the warehouse windows were blacked out, keeping the contents of the floor a secret from any potential prying eyes. 

Rey couldn’t help but notice as she looked around that there were no other doors. While this secret room was fascinating, it still didn’t solve the mystery as to what was behind the hidden door she located in Kylo’s bathroom.

_Another time, perhaps._

With no way to access the floor directly and with the high ceilings on the ground floor, this area would go completely unnoticed to the casual viewer. 

“Kylo,” she breathed, her eyes still wide with astonishment. “what is this place?”

“Well, this….. this is where we train and plan. If we are going to take him down, we do it correctly, thoughtfully and carefully. We have everything we need here. Blueprints of the city, computer systems that will help us plot our course,” he motioned to cluster of computers spread out before affixing his gaze onto the wall of storage cabinets. “and some… friends.” He growled before pressing a button on a remote he pulled from his pocket. The cabinets clicked in unison, unlocking before the doors to each fanned open, revealing the biggest collection of weapons Rey had ever seen in her life. Her eyes went wide in astonishment.

_This is like a goddamn movie._

“Kylo,” she breathed in amazement, quickly assessing what was before her. Rey swiftly surmised that this room could not have been created in a short amount of time; let alone while she was living here. She would have heard something when all this equipment was being put together and unpacked. This had to have been here beforehand, well before her arrival and well before she had ever met Kylo.

_This was who he was._

Kylo’s eyes finally met Rey’s and a silent understanding passed between the two.

‘This is who I am, this is what I do.’ His whiskey colored eyes confessed.

Rey took a measured breath and coolly uttered the word she already knew deep inside back when Kylo first found her. 

“Assassin.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Hired gun, recovery agent. Soldier of fortune, perhaps.” He corrected.

Rey cocked an eyebrow at him.

“The more jobs I did, or was asked to do, the more I saw what was truly going on in this city. Everywhere I looked I saw the corruption and the devastation left in Snoke’s wake. So, in my spare time, I took matters into my own hands.”

In rolodex fashion, Rey’s mind flipped and paged until it landed on something that Detective Ackbar and the District Attorney Poe Dameron had told her down at the Precinct one afternoon after she had agreed to consider testifying.

_‘If you won’t do this the right way and testify against him, just promise us you won’t be another vigilante like the one we already got out there. One we can’t wrangle is more than enough, Rey. Don’t go thinking we can’t nail that son of a bitch Snoke, or that we can’t protect you and then take it upon yourself to live out some ‘wild wild west’ revenge fantasy. What am I even saying… from the looks of you…’ Poe snorted, sizing up Rey’s small frame and dismissing the laughable scenario._

_‘Damn it, Dameron! Shut up!” Ackbar growled, slamming his fist onto his desk. “You just pay him no mind, Miss.’_

_‘What am I missing?’ Rey asked, turning her attention to Ackbar. She had just about had enough of Poe’s condescending, Neanderthal bullshit. Maybe she could take care of herself. What the hell did he know about her, anyways? Smug jerk._

_‘Nothing, nothing.’ Ackbar soothed. ‘You just worry about keeping a low profile for now, until we can get you to the stand. I promise you will be safe, alright? But we still need you to be smart. Don’t go out alone, be hyper aware of your surroundings, maybe even carry some pepper spray. If it’s possible, try and stay home and only go out when you need to. We need this Rey. We need your testimony; it will be that nail in the coffin we’re looking for. Once we take him down, you won’t have to worry anymore. Just promise me you won’t go out alone, okay?’ the auburn-haired detective pleaded._

_Rey nodded as she tried to push down the lump in her throat. She knew she should do this, but could she be kept safe? It’s not like the police would be escorting her everywhere and watching her around the clock._

_Was this worth it?_

_And who was this vigilante they were talking about?_

_‘But who-‘ Rey started to ask._

_‘There’s someone out there.’ Poe_ _began. ‘They…. it’s almost like… they’re helping us.’_

_‘How do you mean?’ Rey asked while Ackbar groaned once more._

_‘You never know when to shut up, do you Dameron?’ Ackbar hissed at Poe, pinching the bridge of his nose._

_‘You wouldn’t believe it even I told you everything. It’s like a movie. This guy, well, I’m fairly sure it’s a guy from what I’ve heard. From eyewitness accounts he’s tall and absolutely huge. He seems to always be there when something big goes down that has to do with Snoke’s organization and he’s always two or three steps ahead of us. We’ll get tips on shipments, deals taking place, low to medium level thugs from the First Order have been practically placed in our lap because of this guy,”_

_‘Sounds like he’s actually doing you a favor then.’ Rey interrupted as her eyes darted from Poe to Ackbar and back again. ‘Doesn’t seem like a problem to me if the bad guys get what’s coming to them in the end.’ She shrugged._

_Poe snorted, waving a hand in front of his face. ‘People can’t go out there, grab a few weapons and take the law into their own hands. He’s made himself a criminal in the process, he doesn’t have the right to do that. He’s basically no better than them now. The law doesn’t work that way, Rey.’_

_‘Maybe it should. Seems like this person is doing your job for you. Maybe a little thanks would be in order. Instead of villainizing this guy maybe you should be handing him a job offer instead of your judgement. At least they are trying and getting results! Maybe if you and your team were out doing more, I wouldn’t be in this mess and you wouldn’t be advising me to carry pepper spray, like that’s some sort of solution!’ Rey stopped herself and took a deep breath, trying to calm her rising anger. There was no point in arguing and there certainly was no use in wishing away her situation. It simply was and no amount of complaining or yelling at the police would change it._

_‘Fine. I’ll testify.’ She gritted as a knowing chill shot down her spine. ‘Hopefully, you can somehow keep me safe ‘til then.’ Rey abruptly stood up from her chair and turned to leave the station. Pausing at the exit, she twisted her head to address the gruff faces of Poe and the Detective one last time. ‘Or maybe I should call out to this guardian angel myself. Sounds like maybe they could keep me alive. Gentlemen.’ She nodded curtly before opening the glass doors and pushing out into the breezy afternoon air._

“Kylo… it was you. Oh my God, the DA and the Detective told me there was someone out there, someone that was practically placing the First Order in their lap. It was you.” Rey breathed as her memory clicked into place, still fuzzy from her attack.

“Somebody had to do something. Their little resistance was utterly pathetic. I would hand these monsters to them on a silver platter, but with the leaks, payoffs and political red tape, it would stall all the time. Only a handful would make it behind bars, but still that was something to me. A handful of them in there instead of out here was better than nothing.”

“So that night when we…. met, did you follow me?”

“I did.” Kylo stated matter-of-factly. He wasn’t about to lie to Rey. If they were going to be a team, she needed to know everything. “And I will not apologize for it. I knew who you were and what your testimony could mean. The police weren’t protecting you, so someone had to. My only regret is that I didn’t get to you fast enough. I was on top of a building about 2 clicks in the opposite direction that you decided to walk home. When you came out of the bar, and went the wrong way, it slowed me down. I still can’t understand why you took that route; you would have had to double back to get home. I wanted to tell you this, but I wanted to wait until you were in the right headspace to hear it. Please don’t think I was lying to you.”

Downhearted, Rey slowly blew out a breath and closed her eyes while she spoke. “Oh no. I was going to Kanata’s- this little all-night bakery first, to get a coffee and chocolate danish so I could stay up and write up my report on that band I saw when I got home. I wanted to get it all written down while my memory and impressions were still fresh.”

“When you went the opposite way, I was caught off guard. I tried to get there as fast as I could, Rey. Really… I…”

“Shhh, I’m just glad you were there.” she soothed.

“But…”

“No. I’m alive because you were there.” Rey affirmed, her eyes searing into his. “You saved me and I will always be thankful to you. Don’t apologize for anything, you were my guardian angel.”

"Angel? Devil is more like it. After telling you all this, after seeing everything, knowing what I am, what I've done.... you still want to be with me? You still want to stay and be a part of this?" A touch of shame and sadness was woven through his voice, shaky and waiting for the inevitable- for her to turn and run.

"Hey," she breathed, delicately taking his head in her hands, her fingers carding through his hair. "That is not what you are, do you hear me? Even if it were, I don't care if I've fallen in love with the devil. As long as he loves me as much as he loves hell." 

"Okay," Kylo breathed, his shoulders relaxing and expression softening. "Let's get to it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspo:
> 
> "The Devil Inside" - INXS  
> "You and Me" - Dave Matthews Band  
> "Free Fallin'" - Tom Petty  
> "Do I Wanna Know" - Arctic Monkeys  
> "Outside the Realm" - Big Giant Circles


	10. Got a revolution behind my eyes...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey's transformation begins.

Rey hadn’t really known what to expect from the trainer Kylo had called in. She was far too preoccupied with thinking about what she would be able to do once her sessions with this trainer were completed. When she could take down Snoke methodically, painfully and slowly before watching the light leave his eyes.

She pictured some prissy, tiny little thing with an impossible figure, big chest and an empty head. Someone who probably just wanted to get close to Kylo or was already and wouldn’t be able to help her at all. Someone who was just going to waste her precious time.

Someone Kylo would undoubtedly find more attractive than her.

_Wait, what?_

This wasn’t like her. Rey knew internally she was just projecting, waiting for something or someone to ruin the good she had finally found. She needed to realign herself mentally if she ever had a chance of shaking her past.

She knew her assumption wasn’t fair or based on any kind of actual merit, but Rey simply didn’t have time to waste. She needed whoever this person was to be serious, to be just as focused as she was. Rey accepted the moment of unfounded possessiveness but didn’t care… whatever. She would protect the good she had at all costs.

She needed to focus on the task at hand. The trainer, yes, the trainer who was coming to help her and deserved a fair shake. Who could wind up being extremely friendly and kind, and everyone deserves kindness in return, right?

Gwen Phasma was unquestionably nothing like what she imagined.

Quite plainly, Gwen was _huge_. Not just huge for a woman, huge for a person. Standing at the same lofty height as Kylo, Gwen’s body was in impeccable shape. Sculpted, hard muscle clearly the result of years of training and practice wrapped around her body; she was strong, blonde and quite frankly, she scared the absolute hell out of Rey.

This is who she was supposed to eventually practice fight? Maybe she had been a little rash in her thinking. She could not do this. Why had Kylo even called this woman in? At this rate, he might as well fight her himself.

_No, no... stop it, Rey. You can do this. Be brave._

As Rey approaches Gwen, Gwen’s eyes dart over Rey’s figure immediately sizing her up, taking in what she has to work with. Rey’s mouth parts, letting out a lofty sigh as she comes to meet the blonde, blue eyed giantess before her.

“Rey, this is Gwen Phasma. You will be in exceptional, confidential hands with her. I trust her with my life, and I trust her implicitly with this. If there is anyone that can get you where you need to be, it’s Phasma. Ladies.” He nods and turns on his heel, leaving the women to begin.

Rey takes yet another deep breath, telling herself that these are her first steps and that she needs to try to calm herself and open herself up to whatever Gwen is about to show her.

“Hi.” Rey offers, unsure of what the best greeting would be to someone like her, in a situation like this.

_Why am I nervous?_

“Gwen Phasma.” The Amazonian’s voice rings out, clasping Rey’s hand in a firm handshake. “My job is to get your ready for the fight of your life and believe me, I will.” Her words dripping with over-confidence. “Now, let’s get one thing straight. I’ve spent my life in the kinds of situations you are trying to put yourself into. MI-6, the Government Communications Headquarters, Defense Intelligence, the Royal Marines and some other agencies I cannot talk about. I have made this my life’s work. I know what I am doing and I’m good at it. I’m going to prepare you, so that whatever you are doing, you can hold your own out there. All our training and our entire relationship will be completely off the record, so you needn’t worry about that, either. Once we are finished, you’ll be able to lock any situation down and won’t need anyone’s help. You will be the baddest bitch this side of the world.” She smirks.

Rey’s eyes lit up at the thought. This was what she wanted, who she knew she was inside.

“I only ask that you give me everything you have and don’t bloody give up. You don’t get second chances out there. I know you can do this, so don’t waste our time with the word ‘can’t’. I need you to give me everything you have, and I will get you there.” Phasma continued.

“I will.” Rey affirmed, the words slow and deliberate. At long last, someone else who believed in her. Rey’s heart pulsed at the thought and suddenly she wanted to do everything in her power not to let Gwen down.

_Man she’s good already._

“Now, have you ever had any kind of self-defense training or anything that we can use as a jumping off point?”

“Um, well, not really.” Rey stammers. “I mean when I was little, I was in the kind of foster homes that were not spending the money to send me to anything extra like that. But when I was about 14, a friend of mine used to take karate classes and I would follow her to the dojo after school. I would just sit and watch so I didn’t have to go home. The instructor kind of took pity on me and let me join the class if I helped him clean up the equipment after classes. So, I had classes for a few months and then all the sudden, I got moved from that foster home and into a new one in another county, so that was done. That’s all I really have.”

“Ok, so while not completely from scratch, we have a lot of work to do.”

Rey took a measured breath and snorted. “Yeah, a lot of good that did me. I was still attacked; I couldn’t fight back.”

“No, stop that. I simply will not have you dwelling on that. It’s a waste of time and does nothing for your soul but tear it down. People always talk about ‘fight or flight’ when your body is in danger, but there is one thing they fail to mention. There are not just two options, there are three and the third is ‘freeze’. It happens more times than you would believe in victims of assaults and you even see it in the wild. Animals will play dead or clam up because the fear grips the body and renders them helpless. It’s simply something that they can’t control. What happened to you was a perfectly normal biological response, so there is no sense in beating yourself up over something like that. It’s done, it’s over and I will make sure it will never happen again. I will prepare you so that when the time comes, your body switches into ‘fight’ mode without even thinking about it.”

Rey looked at Phasma with tears prickling behind her eyes and wordlessly shook her head.

“But we can do this. We’ll combine fighting training, physical conditioning, mental exercises to help you conquer your fears and we’ll do some of the weapons instruction, but Kylo will handle the firearms and tactical aspect.”

“Okay.” Rey nodded furiously, her body feeling as though it was winding up inside, coiling, tightening and preparing to strike.

“Well, alright. Let’s kick some ass.”

The next few months were an absolute blur to Rey. Her body would jolt out of bed at daybreak and race to the training floor to practice early before Phasma would arrive to begin the days lessons and training. Each morning that Rey would beat Phasma to the workout floor, Gwen would find her in the same place, beating her fists against a heavy bag, knuckles splitting and bleeding as a smirk passed over Gwen’s lips. Even after Gwen would leave, Rey would continue, not wanting to slow down, not wanting to let up.

Enduring the grueling pace all day long, her body covered in sweat, Rey slowly began to feel herself ascending. Sweat covered, unsure limbs would give way to shaped muscle, her strength steadily rising. By nightfall she would fall into bed exhausted and drained, but knew she was getting closer and closer to her purpose. It was gritty, impossibly tough work, but every morning she woke with the same unwavering resolve and went to bed with a Cheshire cat level grin, knowing Snoke’s time was ticking down. His comeuppance was on the horizon, with Rey as the jolly executioner.

The very first time (and quite frankly the fifteen times after that first time) Phasma hit her during a sparring match, it hurt like fucking hell. _Absolute fucking hell._

As that initial strike landed on her jawline, Rey was almost certain that Phasma had knocked her tooth out and was downright shocked to find it still intact.

It was still there. _She_ was still here and with that one strike, something inside Rey shifted. It may have been excruciating to feel the formidable weight of Phasma’s right hook crashing into her jaw, but as time went on, she welcomed it.

She welcomed the hurt. The hurt was what was helping her get closer to her goal.

She welcomed the fact that she didn’t get hit as often as her speed and agility increased. Welcomed her strength developing, her muscles and reflexes improving, her stamina growing.

She welcomed the stunned yet jovial look on Phasma’s face as Rey blocked her strikes.

Her endurance blossomed. As many times as Rey got hit, she continued to get up, square her shoulders and keep going. Phasma even called it her “superpower”.

“You never know when to give up do you?” Phasma asked, as Rey pushed herself back up to her feet once more, her tone thick with wonder and something that sounded an awful lot like complete respect.

Hey, it was something and Rey would take the compliment gladly.

She welcomed the hurt like it was some sort of cathartic experience. She wasn’t scared of being hit anymore, no longer frightened, she _welcomed_ the hurt.

It reminded her she was still here. She was still alive, of what she had to do and that she could still fight. She was starting to become the one in control and no one would ever get the better of her again.

*

“I am not afraid.”

It was a mantra she told herself every day after Phasma had begun to put her through the psychological ringer, by making her face her fears, identify each and work on them. Rey knew she was tired of living in fear, tired of being anxious, tired of the flashes of the attack- coming to her not only during the night but during the day, too. She was simply done being afraid and would no longer grant Snoke the permission to haunt her. Phasma would tell her repeatedly that if Rey could master, control and face her fears then and only then, she would be fearless.

She would be free.

The balance of Phasma’s training still alternated between simple physical training, that in all honesty was never actually ever what anyone would call “simple” and fighting instruction. The coupling of which left Rey practically exhausted every night, falling into bed with or without Kylo’s presence.

With Rey on the mend, Kylo had resumed his nightly assignments. The missions providing a way for him to not only keep his skills sharp and his ample bank account fed, but to keep his ear to the ground in the city, so that when Rey was ready to fully begin, he would be completely aware of the current state of the First Order’s recent activities and they could dive in headfirst.

Early one morning, Phasma had announced to Rey that she believed the time had come for Rey to select a weapon. Kylo would be taking care of the firearms and more tactical type gear, but Phasma felt Rey was ready to begin training with either a set of batons or a staff.

“Choose.” Gwen whispered as the weapons sat before them on a table. Rey’s hand briefly hovered over the staff before her fingers locked onto the batons. Turning them around in her wrists, she simply whispered, “these.” The steel black batons having called out to her, begging to be chosen.

“Let’s begin.”

*

Lengthy days of training with the batons left Rey’s body an entirely new form of sore and exhausted. Phasma marveled at how quickly Rey seemed to catch on to wielding the weapons; able to attack, parry and conjure up quick footwork in what seemed like a blink of an eye.

“You’re getting good at this.” Phasma smirked as Rey blocked another one of her thunderous blows.

Rey grinned at her teacher before whirling around, spinning the batons and stopping them just short of Phasma’s head.

“Gotcha.” Rey beamed.

Phasma nodded before whirling her staff upright to knock Rey’s batons away. They moved about the training floor trading blows, metal crashing into metal as they fended off each other’s attacks. With each movement and blow, Rey grunted and gritted her teeth and screamed at times, ravenous for the fight.

With another flurry of rapid movements, Rey had surprised Phasma again as the batons swept at her ankles, knocking Gwen on her back.

“You’re ready to face him.” Gwen breathed as she laughed.

“Him? No, no… I need much more training, much more conditioning. I’ve only been at these batons for a few….”

“No, not Snoke. Kylo.” Phasma corrected, getting to her feet.

“I can’t…”

“You what?” Phasma snarled back, clearly displeased.

“I mean…I,” Rey began to stammer, shaking her head. She couldn’t possibly fight him, she wasn’t ready to face someone with his capabilities, someone with a good foot and pounds and pounds of muscle over her. Someone that wasn’t a trainer, but someone trying to hurt her… someone that she didn’t want to hurt.

“I do not want to hear that phrase out of your mouth again, Rey. I told you that on day- fucking- one. You can and you will. Sparring with him will be the perfect practice for you. The people you will be against will be similar to his caliber, so you need to practice with someone other than me, someone that will have the same skills and a different fighting style, who is a different size and moves differently. Trust me, this will make you better.”

“I don’t know if I can…” Rey began. How would she be able to fight him? If caring about him wasn’t one problem, the sheer size and force of his expansive body would be the other.

“Ok, stop.” Phasma tutted. “I want you to try a visualization exercise with me.”

Rey rolled her eyes in response as Phasma went to move behind her.

“Knock it off and trust me.” Phasma shushed.

“Alright.” Rey sighed, taking a deep breath as Phasma stood directly behind her, placing her hands onto Rey’s shoulders.

“Now, take a deep breath and close your eyes. Just do it, rookie.” Phasma growled, beating any objection from Rey.

Wiggling her head in protest, Rey complied, taking a long deep breath as she closed her eyes and attempted to quiet her mind.

“I want you to picture Kylo in front of you. Evaluate him. Assess his height, weight, take stock of his body.”

Rey practically snorted.

“Oh, come on girl, I’m not stupid. I know you too are shagging each other senseless.” Phasma groaned. “This is how you move past this, now come on.”

“Okay, okay.”

“See him, assess him. Allow your feelings for him to come, process them into prisms of light, hold them close to you in your hands. Now, raise your hands up and let them go into the sky. Let all of that go. Reaching into yourself, locate your switch. That switch inside you…. you know where it is, and you know which one I’m talking about. To turn that part of you off, for just a little while. Access that part of you. Access that warrior within you, that absolute badass that I’ve seen in here day in and day out. Bring your head back down and open your eyes. Let your eyes pierce into the being in front of you. It is no longer Kylo, this is a faceless being, this is Snoke by proxy. This person is everyone who has ever done you wrong, anyone who has ever dared to hurt you, anyone who has ever attacked you. Their hands are his hands. They live inside him now. And you, you are warrior. You are cunning, you are wise, you are strong from years of struggle. Your skills are sharp and there is no one powerful enough to stop you. It doesn’t matter who is in front of you. They are weak and you… you are not afraid.”

“I am not afraid.” Rey echoed, her tone even, measured and intense.

*

Later......

Heavy, deliberate footsteps stalking towards Rey echoed in her ears. The gait undeniably Kylo's, Rey kept her back to him, her eyes closed while gathering her strength. Strong hands coiled around themselves into fists and back out again. Taking deliberate breaths, she steadied herself and entered her most desired state of maniacal calm. 

"Hey, baby..." he growled, his tone thick with suggestion and a hint of challenge.

"I am not afraid." Rey confidently smirked, her eyes flashing open, ready to begin the fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspo:
> 
> Just Because - Jane's Addiction  
> Pushing Forward Back - Temple of the Dog  
> Immigrant Song- Led Zeppelin  
> Breathe- The Prodigy  
> Sanctified - NIN  
> Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger  
> Thunderstruck - Ac/ DC  
> Kinda I Want To - NIN  
> Head Like a Hole- NIN  
> Terrible Lie - NIN  
> Sin - NIN  
> Battleflag - Lo Fidelity Allstars


	11. I'm taking it slow, feeding my flame...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, my lovelies.  
> Can we believe the new stuff we heard about TROS and the lineage being constantly changed????? yup. Yup.. I can. :( Anyways... 
> 
> ***The dawn of Nyx***
> 
> Trigger warning, this chapter starts in on a lot of violent themes from here on out. Rey and Kylo have a sparring match and are actually trying to hurt one another in a sense, but it's strictly for training purposes since we know Snoke's men won't take it easy on her. Just wanted to point out that this is just for training and is not an abusive relationship.
> 
> Also, Rey begins to train with firearms - if that's a trigger for you. I have no background in them, so forgive my clumsy attempts. We'll just say that the shooting range is made to muffle sound, to not draw attention to the warehouse. Just go with it. 
> 
> I couldn't resist making up a weapon and adding my take on one of my favorite scenes in 'Aliens'. Ripley is being shown how to operate the rifle by Hicks and somehow, this always seemed like such a moment Kylo and Rey would have in another world. Tol and Smol.
> 
> Some girls had their awakening to Devon Sawa or something (showing my age here) .... I had mine to Corporal Hicks. Don't come @ me.

Many people in Rey’s life had underestimated her. They underestimated her resilience, her power, her strength. For too long she was cast aside as no one, nobody. Not anymore.

Not in this new life. And this is where it starts.

Kylo remains stock-still across the room, his palms up and out, attempting to lure Rey into the fight. Music hammers against the speakers, pulsing through Rey’s veins- laying the backdrop to what will be an interesting matchup.

“Waitin’ on you, sweetheart.” Kylo prods, clearly trying to enrage Rey. His tone is thick, superior and patronizing and for the first time since they’ve met, Rey wants to smack that look off his face.

Because he is no longer Kylo.

He is Snoke by proxy, hence he must be neutralized. His feeble attempts to throw her off her game won’t work. He has no idea who he is dealing with now.

Rey gently reaches her arms up and behind her back, clasping the batons in the holder situated there. Without breaking her stare, Rey removes the batons and promptly snaps them downwards to extend them. There is an eerie quality to her movements, controlled and wraithlike and a charge of something almost electric shoots down Kylo’s spine in anticipation.

Kylo cocks an eyebrow at her and the battle begins.

The way Kylo moves can only be likened to an elegant dance in Rey’s mind. His movements fluid, easy and effortless, like he could do this in his sleep. A cold focus radiates from him and Rey knows in that moment this sparring match will be even tougher than she predicted.

In one graceful movement, Kylo uses the tip of his foot to send the training staff lying on the floor up and into his hands to block the crushing blow descending onto him from Rey’s batons. Metal crashes upon metal as Kylo blocks each one of her attacks, strike for strike.

Landing a few potent hits against his staff, Rey could feel her confidence blooming. Almost as if he could read her mind, Kylo made sure to reel her back in, sending that emerging self – assurance back down to earth. He knocked one of her batons clean out of her hand, thumping across the room while he grabbed the other mid-strike with his bare hand, freezing her in place.

“Come on, stop playing with me…” he cautioned slowly before ripping the last baton out her hand and throwing it across the room to join the other. He knew she was holding back. He wanted her to unleash down to every last molecule of her being. He needed to extract everything she had and show her what she could truly do and what she was truly capable of.

With quick footwork, Rey managed to evade a barrage strikes from the staff before she was able to see an opening and capitalize on it.

_‘He’s stepping before he strikes,’_ Rey thought. Using her assessment, Rey was able to kick the staff from his hands where it joined her batons on the floor. A tight grin formed on her lips.

“Bout done?” he questioned.

“Hardly.” Rey goaded, motioning with her hands to continue while throwing a lethal smirk his way.

Kylo nodded curtly and was waiting for Rey to strike when she spoke once more.

“You’re telegraphing! Stop it.” Rey gnashed through gritted teeth. She knew Kylo was not one to make such a mistake. He was giving her a break and that just would not do. Rey knew that these next few moments right here would be a clear barometer of her training and she needed them to be pure; to be completely of her own design.

No weapons, no taking it easy. _Just_ her and her skills.

Just her against someone with a good foot and many pounds of muscle over her. This is undoubtedly was what it was going to be like out there- out there fighting Snoke and his thugs.

Kylo and Rey traveled throughout the room trading blows and blocks, matching each other strike for strike. Her mind flew wildly as it calculated each of Kylo’s moves, his counter attacks and what her next series of strikes should be. An otherworldly force guided her, steering her path, whispering in her ear.

It came as natural as breathing and was so attuned with her psyche, it wasn’t even something she completely realized or was even aware of.

She just _knew_ what to do.

If they weren’t currently training, Rey would let her mind wander to how her body tensed slightly at the proximity of being caged against his hard body in a hold maneuver. Or how a possessive sense of lust washed over her as his whiskey colored eyes stared into her with _that_ dark look. She could drown in those eyes, in that wicked look. It was like her body was programmed to react no matter what at the closeness of her partner or the intensity of Phasma’s training.

But no, no… not now. Not now, this was serious. No, she wasn’t realizing that at all.

Who was she kidding? She certainly was and it threw a whole new level of complexity into the fight. Rey struggled to keep that internal switch in the “off” position. The lever of which seemingly had a phantom hand fiddling with it; shoving against Rey to flip it up and off. Urging her to allow it in.

_No._

Kylo attacked with an enormous overhand punch and Rey pivoted out of reach. But before she could strike, Kylo drove his massive shoulder into her chest, momentarily taking some wind out her while he landed solid punches into her gut. Doubling over, a strangled grunt of pain tore from her throat before pulling her elbow back and snapping it repeatedly into Kylo’s temple. Now able to twist from his grasp, she placed all her might into a sturdy right hook that connected with Kylo’s jaw.

A few stray drops of blood splashed onto the floor below as an all too familiar metallic taste entered his mouth.

Rey was momentarily taken aback, a rookie mistake that she was certainly going to pay for. While her punch was potent, it wasn’t some deadly strike. Taking this opportunity from his bowed stance, Kylo seized Rey’s entire body wrapping around it roughly before tossing her away and to the floor like a rag doll. Slamming into the ground, Rey’s whole body cried out in pain as Kylo stalked over to her before beginning his assault. His body kneeling over her, she struggled to steady her breathing and think.

_‘Breathe,’_ she thought. _‘I’ve been here before, remember my training.’_

Punches flurried onto Rey as her arms shot up into a defensive cage. Biding her time until she saw an opening, Rey grasped his arms and in one swift movement she spun him up and over her until she was now the one perched on top, her fists crashing into him.

Stretching his arm out against the floor, Kylo’s fingers clasped around one of Rey’s discarded batons. A whistle came from the baton at the sheer speed it shot through the tense air and it halted just short of Rey’s head.

“ _Now_ you’re done.” Kylo growled commandingly. A small pang in his chest radiated within him at the thought of this being a real fight with someone else. Someone else who wouldn’t have stopped before striking her.

Rey’s eyes flashed with a mix of shock and fear as she too realized if this were any other fight, that baton would have directly collided with her temple, probably knocking her out cold. If this were any other fight, her assailant would have capitalized on that moment by killing her, beating her more, shooting her, capturing her- anything was possible.

Gathering her emotions, in a burst of quick movements Rey was able to snatch the staff from Kylo and flip him over her and back onto the flat of his back once more so that she was now standing astride him, ready to strike.

“Just getting started.” She quipped.

Kylo looked up at Rey utterly startled and confused as to how she managed to get the upper hand.

He let out a snort of approval, “Good.”

*

Her first fight with him behind her, Kylo began to add to her training by teaching her the tactical and weapons side of her instruction.

A makeshift climbing wall and shooting range had been created on the ground floor of the warehouse and pages upon pages of city blueprints had been strewn across the metal tables on her training floor, ready for her inspection.

‘Ordinary warehouse, pfft.’ Rey snorted as she thought, following Kylo to the ground floor late one evening. ‘Tower of torture is more like it. The more and more I see of this place, the more intense it gets.’

“I want you to meet a close, personal friend of mine.” Kylo drawled, clasping a bulky gun to chest. “This is a Drake model 120A2, light armor-piercing rounds loaded into a 99-round magazine. Feel the weight.” He breathed, flipping the large gun over in his hands for her to grasp. She adjusted the straps on her black tank top and rubbed her palms on her matching black workout leggings before stretching her fingers towards Kylo's hands.

Rey inhaled sharply before taking the large weapon into her hands. “Okay, show me everything.”

Kylo rasped on, explaining the ins and outs of this particular weapon as Rey listened carefully. The firearm was big, heavy and cumbersome and should have scared her. Kylo marveled at her poise when it didn’t seem to shake her one bit. He had started her out with this beast of a gun on purpose- to gage her comfort. But Rey amazed him once more, adapting, learning and not letting anything shake her.

“So, when the counter reads zero here?” Kylo quizzed as he stood against her, framing her shooting stance.

“I press this up.”

“Right, take out the cartridge, slap in another one quick and hard.”

Rey removed the cartridge before slamming it back in, showing Kylo that she knew how to reload.

“And now you’re ready to rock and roll.” He growled approvingly.

Rey nodded curtly. “You started this, keep going. I can handle myself.” She regained her shooting stance, eagerly awaiting Kylo’s next piece of instruction.

“Yeah,” he snorted as his melded his body against hers, “I noticed.”

*

Rey was a natural. Weapons training, planning and climbing began to come as easy as breathing to her. She focused intensely, knowing it was bringing her that much closer to her goal. Rey even began scrambling up her climbing wall while listening to ambient noises in her earphones. The background noises helped train her on a completely different level, helping her practice to tune out anything and everything that could throw her off her concentration in such a precarious situation.

She continued working with Gwen sharpening her skills and using the remainder of her time to get comfortable with firing the assortment of weapons. Each kicked back differently, each felt different and Rey wanted to master them all. All of it made her more complete, more un-fuck-with-able, if that was even a word. 

She decided it was.

Un-fuck-with-able. That’s who she was now- that same otherworldly energy continuing to guide her.

Practice helped her discover what worked best for her and her body. How to reload the smaller caliber weapons one handed, where they needed to be placed on her body for quick and easy access and she even began to formulate in her head what kind of tactical suit she needed to perform at her best. Handing over some sketches to Gwen, Rey commissioned her gear to be created. It would be of course in black, it would be sleek, functional and transfigurative.

It would help her evolve. Reconstruct her into who she as always meant to be.

She would become a different person in that suit.

“What’s this design indicate?” Phasma asked as she ran her fingers over the small insignia Rey had drawn on the back of the suit, hovering over the right shoulder. It was a simple crescent moon with two dazzling stars situated alongside it.

“Nyx.” Rey marveled, the inspiration striking her earlier while sketching like a white-hot bolt of lightning.

“Nyx?” Phasma questioned as she examined Rey’s suit sketches. “I’m not familiar.”

“When I was a little girl, I didn’t have much. I got shuffled around from foster home to foster home. There was one thing I did have- my prized possession at the time. I was eleven and I was living with this one family and I found this beautiful leather-bound book in their attic all about Greek mythology. It was just sitting there collecting dust!” Her eyes wide with wonder.

“It had these fantastic stories about Gods and Goddesses, wars, adventures and romance. That book got me through some rough times, it was my constant companion when I had no one. I never went anywhere without it. There was this one Goddess that always captivated me. Oh, I wished I were her. I read those stories about her so much that the pages became frail and brittle. She was Nyx, Goddess of the Night. Each night she would emerge from the Underworld, hand in hand with Erebus, bringing the veil of darkness to the world. She was a shadowy entity, mother to Retribution, Pain, Sleep and Death among others. She could impact mankind in a good or bad way, she had that power. Nyx was so old and powerful, even Zeus feared her. She was the only person he was truly scared of and if that wasn’t a badass bitch, I don’t know what is. That is who I will become. I’m taking your ‘flipping the switch idea’ and pushing it once step further. I will become someone else.” She smiled deviously, an excited finality lilting in her voice. “I will become the night; I will take it back. I will become that badass bitch in black. I will become Nyx.”

It was time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspo:
> 
> Closer - NIN  
> The Chemicals Between Us - Bush  
> Blow My Fuse- Kix  
> Sleep Now In the Fire- RATM  
> Eyes on Fire - Blue Foundation  
> Zero- Smashing Pumpkins


	12. I'm meaner than my demons... slipping through the trees, strangling the breeze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey finally goes on her first mission and of course it goes a little sideways. As a warning- things get violent from here on out. Possible trigger warning. Death, blood, fighting, etc. Rey just goes on a rampage, as it's how she's dealing with her PTSD from her attack. She doesn’t give a fuck, not a single one. Things aren't exactly healthy. Yes, I know. Don't @ me.
> 
> For Rey's suit....think something close to some Superhero level stuff. I honestly modeled hers after Natasha Romanoff in Infinity War... so that's what I was going for. And yes, the First Order isn't smart. There I said it. They make stupid decisions that our babies capitalize on.

“Ok, and?”

“The entry points are here, and here and here….” Rey traced her fingertips along the blueprints laid out before her and Kylo, pointing at the schematics of the building.

“Right. Remember this is strictly for observation only. I am only bringing you along so you can get a sense of how things go down. Since this is your first Op, we run this military style - like a chain of command. I know you know that from Gwen’s training. I’ll take command. As you learn and get experience, we’ll be a team or even you can lead, but for now I need you to listen to me the way you would to her in her exercises - until you get your sea legs. I’ve been working on this bust for weeks now and this should be a relatively quick and easy mark. Snoke’s men are meeting the Acolytes syndicate to pickup the weapons order they contracted them to complete. We don’t want more weapons falling into their hands. Time for their shipment to go missing on the way back to their safe house.” Kylo shifted his weight between feet, a smirk forming on his lips.

“The Acolytes? I thought that the Original Covenant crew had the lock on weapons around here.”

“They did. Until the Acolytes started importing showier firepower from overseas and now it’s anybody’s game. That’s a whole other war brewing….”

“I see.” Rey murmured, not taking her eyes off the long scrolls of paper before her.

“Now, I’ve been watching their exchanges and they follow a strict procedure. After they verify the weapons, they do the physical exchange here.” Kylo pointed to the loading dock on the blueprint before continuing. “After the weapons are loaded the Acolytes leave first. Exactly four minutes after that the First Order leaves, but only the men not driving the weapons truck. They scout ahead first while the weapons truck stays put. Seven minutes after that, the weapons truck finally leaves and that’s our window.”

“What?” a confused expression stretching across her brow. “That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”

“I never said they were smart.” Kylo shrugged.

“I mean, they are leaving their truck open- its vulnerable and defenseless.”

“Well, in their minds the reason they do this is so the car ahead can scout the way and make sure it’s clear before the truck follows. They have a false sense of security in this little area.” Kylo makes a circular motion outlining the loading area of the building. “In their minds, they think they already cleared the area and it’s safe and that the road ahead is what is dangerous. Whatever—they are miscalculating, and it gives us our chance. A driver and one other First Order member will be easy to take out and boom- the weapons truck never arrives. The other Order members wont even know anything is wrong until seven minutes later when they radio back that’s it’s clear for the truck to proceed. That gives us plenty of time. Well, me. This one you are just observing only.”

“Mm-hm.” Rey murmured as her eyes zoned onto the maps.

“Rey, I mean it. This is strictly observation only. You are to stay here,” Kylo pressed, pointing to an adjacent building on the blueprints before them. “and observe only. Even if things go south. Do not get involved.”

“I got it, ok? I won’t.” She gritted flippantly.

_Like hell she wouldn’t._

Two nights later Rey found herself situated on top of an old building on the outskirts of the city, listening to Kylo rattle on about the same instructions for the 467th time. She heard this all before many, _many_ times.

She tried to remain patient, knowing that Kylo was only acting like this because he was worried and wanted to keep her safe. She understood that, but enough already. _Get on with it_.

“Let’s go already.” She griped . “Stop being such a goddamn cock tease.”

“So vulgar. You’re coming along nicely. If you wanted my cock all you had to do was ask.” Kylo purred low and slow.

Rey threw a cautioning smirk his way before offering a wisecrack. “Later, dearest.” Rey smiled and winked at Kylo before returning her attention to the building before them.

Kylo thought that Rey would be worried, frightened, apprehensive, terrified or anxious at the very least. But she was none of those things.

She was calm and content. Initiating Snoke’s slow torture was giving her everything she needed mentally. At the end of the night, Snoke wouldn’t have his weapons or his money and a clear message would be sent to him that even he wasn’t untouchable. She could get to him, she could ruin his little deeds. She could ruin _him_.

Rey grinned as she thought about what his reaction would be to losing his shipment and his money tonight. A wave of euphoria pulses through her and down to the tips of her toes. 

‘Let him suffer, let him stew in his failure. Let him watch the empire he built slowly crumble around him while he’s powerless to stop it.’ She thought.

She was a predator toying with it’s prey, slowly and methodically terrorizing him. Like ripping the legs of a spider before squashing it under her feet.

Rey was perched and ready, her black jumpsuit completed, hugging her every curve. The heavy black material covered her entire body, blending her into the night. A slim, black utility vest was situated over the top of the suit that doubled as a holster for her batons. Leather straps crisscrossed around her thighs, keeping her handguns close for her fingertips to easily seize. Her belt concealed a few extra rounds of ammo and a carabiner for scaling and clambering upwards. A hood was gently situated over her head, concealing her chestnut locks that she had fashioned back into a braid.

Rey loved this suit. The thick fabric fit her like a glove but wasn’t restricting. It was badass, almost superhero like and she felt practically invincible in it.

“Alright, Snoke’s men and the Acolytes are going to meet first on the second floor there…” Kylo said motioning to the building across the way . “…...then they’ll each show a taste of their ends of the bargain. Once agreed, the weapons will be loaded back there, at the loading dock- just like we talked about. The cash will be passed off and they will both split before too long. Neither of them owns this building, they’ve just designated it as a halfway point, so they won’t want to stick around. It should be easy enough for me to confirm the exchange, sneak back to the truck carrying the weapons and neutralize it before it gets anywhere.”

“Why not just wait by the truck to jack it in transit like we talked about? Why even go in?”

“I need to get up there and hear every word they say. If they mention other deals, other trades. Those few moments of listening could tip us off to more deliveries that need to be stopped or let us know about any potential cracks in their little arrangement that we could capitalize on later.”

“What about the Acolytes?”

“That’s another war, love. We’ll get to that later. For now, the objective is to keep those First Order assholes from getting back to their safehouse with those weapons. They can’t make it to Snoke.”

“Understood.”

“Now you have your earpiece in, that way we can hear one another. Keep the channel clear though and only speak in emergencies. I’ll hear you if something happens.” Kylo motioned to the black earpiece wedged into his ear.

“I know.”

“Stay here.” He cautioned, passing the binoculars to her. “Keep them aimed at the second floor, just there.” He pointed to the building just then, to give Rey a sightline. “You’ll see me, but they won’t. After the exchange, I’ll take care of the shipment and we’ll….”

“Meet back at the rendezvous point, yeah I know. You told me enough times.” Rey interrupted sighing heavily.

“So mouthy.” Kylo feigned offense.

“You love it.” She sassed, the moonlight highlighting the curves of her face just so.

“Fuck yes, I do.” He growled before capturing her lips.

Oh that voice, that damn voice. It did things to her. Sinful things. Made her want to pull at the zipper on his suit and….

_Focus Rey!_

“Be careful.” Rey whispered after he finally pulled himself away.

“Always am. Stay here.”

If it were any other night, Kylo would have been right. If it were any other night, his calculations would have been precise and to the point.

But sometimes plans are changed. Sometimes one thing sets off a series of chain reactions, altering the course of things.

Sometimes fate has a way of stepping in, doesn’t it?

Peering through her binoculars, Rey was able to watch as Kylo slipped into the correct building unnoticed moments before either side of the deal arrived. Stealing away onto the second floor, Kylo also clad in black tactical gear, blended into the darkness there, lying in wait for the Acolytes and Snoke’s men to make their way there. Rey implored Kylo to let her bring some sort of long-range rifle so that she could at least be prepared to help if something went down. If she were banished to the adjacent building, at least she could be of use. Kylo wouldn’t hear of it and they ended up leaving the warehouse with sort range weapons only. He insisted there was nothing to worry about and that he had done this a hundred times before. A long-range weapon would only give her position away, putting her at risk, which wasn’t a gamble he was willing to take. Her even coming along was all the risk he was willing to entertain.

“I’ve done this so many times before, there is nothing to worry about, _Mon Cher_.” He attempted to soothe her as he wound his fingertips along her braided hair before leaving the warehouse.

Still, Rey couldn’t shake the nagging sensation that something was going to happen, and it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up in anticipation. Something was about to go wrong, she just _sensed_ it. Why didn’t he? She decided the only thing she could do now is keep watch and inevitably act when necessary.

His rules be damned.

Kylo’s form moved into the vision of her binoculars as he stole away into the second floor of the vacant, decaying building. The First Order and the Acolytes had picked a rather run-down part of town for their meeting, riddled only with industrial style buildings that looked like they had seen better days. The odds of being seen were almost nil, but the buildings looked like they were ready to collapse at the weight of a feather. It was a precarious tradeoff.

Several vehicles began making their way towards the structure, creeping in slowly. Panning her binoculars to the blinding headlights before shifting them back to that second floor, Rey swallowed hard.

Kylo’s silhouette was just inside, shifting throughout the room. He obscured himself from view, settling in for the first part of the exchange. Her hazel eyes stared on as she watched Kylo pick his head up and gaze at the ceiling above him.

“What the hell is he looking at?” Rey whispered as she moved the binoculars upwards to find what Kylo’s eyes were fixed on. There was a large gaping hole in the ceiling, wooden planks jutting out into the empty space where part of the third floor had collapsed. It was slanted downwards, unsteadily hanging and ready to cave in at the slightest shift in weight.

“No. No, no, no, no.” Rey tutted as she instantly surmised what Kylo planned to do. Confirming her intuition, he leapt upwards and through the space, tucking himself against the floor. Lying on his stomach, Kylo melted into the darkness and blended in with the ragged floor as his eyes peered down below.

“Shhhh.” He breathed, the hum reverberating in her ears and down to her toes.

“Show off. Changing the plan… tsk, tsk.” Rey murmured before her attention was stolen by the parade of goons exiting their vehicles.

Before long, members of both the First Order and the Acolytes had congregated on the second floor, the air now thick with tension and mistrust.

A thin dark haired man stood with a handful of First Order members, while a large, ruddy faced man stood with several Acolyte members, all of which had their hands resting at the sides, fists clenched and ready for the smallest movement from the other side. To keep things relatively calm, weapons were not permitted into the second-floor meeting in case someone’s hand “slipped.”

“Mitaka.” The stocky, ruddy faced man grumbled, acknowledging the First Order member in front of him.

“Quinn.” Mitaka robotically parroted back. “Enough with the pleasantries, let’s just get this over with.” Mitaka motioned to one of his fellow First Orders members behind him that produced a large, black duffel bag. Tossing it to the floor, a blonde haired First Order member opened the bag, revealing stacks of cash. “The agreed upon price, eight hundred large.” He snapped.

Amused and unbothered, Quinn motioned to his own group. An Acolyte delivered an almost identical black duffel back, but from within, he pulled a large weapon and showed it to the group.

“What we agreed on. The rest of the crates are out back.”

Two of the First Order members took a hesitant step forward, ready for the Acolytes to seize back the bagged weapons and possibly shoot.

“Magazines are in the other boxes downstairs, so don’t get any ideas. These are all unloaded.” Quinn warned and the First Order members gingerly took a step back.

Mitaka took a step forward to inspect the weapon before concluding that the dimensions and build looked correct.

“And you have the complete amount?”

“Yes.”

“Are you certain?”

“I said yes, didn’t I?”

“And the next shipment? Two weeks from tonight, correct?”

“It’s already in the works. It’ll be on time.” Quinn coolly assured him.

Mitaka rolled his shoulders back and exhaled before speaking again. “Every weapon had better be accounted for. The First Order does not take kindly to short shipments. If there is any sort of dishonesty here, I can assure you retribution will be swift. Snoke will not tolerate…”

“Twenty-five crates, twenty weapons per crate for a total of five hundred weapons tonight.” Quinn spoke assertively, but calmly. “Kid, I’ve been doing this since you were in diapers. Knock it off.” He smirked as he cracked his chubby knuckles before resting his hands onto his midsection. An air of confidence wafted off him and Mitaka narrowed his eyes in return.

“Right.” Mitaka nodded. “As thrilling as this has been, let’s just get this loaded up downstairs and get on with our lives.”

And just like that, fate has a way of interceding.

Fate comes in all sorts of interesting forms. Sometimes it’s the way two people meet, your dream job opening up just when the timing is right, or in this case, the floor of an unstable, rickety building beginning to give way under your weight before you can react.

Rey watched on through her binoculars in horror as the floor beneath Kylo suddenly gave way before he could even realize or react to it, sending him hurtling onto the ground in heap. Kylo landed with a thump in between the First Order and the Acolytes in a mountain of wooden planks, sharp nails and remnants of glass. Kylo shifted his weight, trying to extract himself from the debris, but there was fate once more. A large piece of metal scaffolding slid down, crashing into the back of Kylo’s head, rendering him unconscious. Rey knew she had to act.

“Oh, fuck this!” Rey grated, throwing the binoculars aside.

Before the dust from the collapse could even settle, Rey was up and sprinting across the adjacent rooftops towards the building.

“I’ve got you, baby.”

*

“Well, well, well. What have we here?” Mitaka sneered.

“A spy!” Quinn cried.

“Not one of ours!” Mitaka quickly corrected.

“Not ours either!”

The group of men started to shout and accuse one another as Kylo gradually regained awareness, taking in stock of what had happened.

“Look at him, he’s neither Order nor Acolyte. He must be police! Get him!” Mitaka barked.

As Kylo attempted to push himself up from the rubble, a First Order goon reached down into the rubble and extracted a large, heavy plank of wood. Snapping it out, he brought it down onto the back of Kylo’s head before Kylo even saw it.

*

“Wake up our guest, would you?” Mitaka scoffed as a bucket of water was thrown over Kylo’s head, shocking him awake.

He quickly took stock of the situation and realized he was down on the ground, hands zip tied behind his back, while his midsection was haphazardly tied to a support beam, his back leaning against it.

The Acolytes and the First Order goons stood before him, glaring down at him with contempt.

“Who the hell are you?” Quinn barked.

“Who sent you?” Mitaka quickly followed up.

Kylo let out an amused snort, his mouth curling up into a smirk. A First Order member’s fist descended into his jaw, splitting his lip.

Kylo turned his head, spitting out blood before he returned his gaze to the men and uttered simply, “Really?”

More punches and strikes followed, each one doing little to break Kylo’s taunting spirit. He wasn’t sure how or why this all happened. How he allowed himself to make such a stupid mistake. A mistake like this was neophyte at best, but he had gotten out of worse scrapes than this and he would do it again.

A tiny, miniscule exhale of breath, little more than a whisper registered in Kylo’s ears. None of the gang surrounding him noticed, but he knew for certain he had heard it.

_I am not afraid._

“Hey!” a voice bellowed, capturing the groups attention as they whirled around. “Ready to try that on someone that can fight back?” It asked coolly. The dark, sinister voice moved like smoke through the night air.

_Now where had he heard that before?_

_‘_ Oh, fucking goddamn it _.’_ Kylo thought, biting his lip and throwing his head back in exasperation.

Rey.

She stood illuminated from behind, before the frame of a busted-out window. The moonlight shining in, coupled with the black battle paint splashed across her eyes, now she was the one who looked like a lethal predator- ready to strike.

Although he was furious with Rey for getting involved, he had to admit; she looked absolutely breathtaking. Her black suit hauntingly illuminated by the moon, her body strong, ready and unafraid, her hood obscuring her identity- she _was_ Nyx. She was the night.

“Now who the hell are you?” Quinn asked throwing his arms up into the air.

“Oh, you guys are in trouble now…” Kylo chuckled under his breath, just catching their attention.

An Acolyte rushed at Rey, screaming at the top of his lungs as he ran. Rey calmly removed her batons from their holder, remaining stock still until her attacker came right up onto her. In series of rapid strikes, she brought the man down, knocked out cold and sprawled on the floor below her.

She turned her weapons down to her sides before simply growling, “I’m Nyx.” She flourished her batons once more, bringing them back down onto the back of the attacker’s head for good measure. Blood seeped out of a gash there, oozing onto the floor before pooling underneath him.

Squaring her jaw, she taunted the group of men, raising her chin and throwing a challenging smirk their way.

“Yeah,” Kylo cracked, his eyes wide in mock concern, “told ya. You guys might want to consider surrendering now or just jump out the windows and break your own necks. It would be a hell of a lot easier, you know.”

“Shut up!” Quinn interrupted, his expression concerned and worried.

Kylo feigned an offended face before throwing his head back. “Your funeral.”

Without a single working weapon between the lot of them, the Acolytes and the First Order were left with nothing but their bare hands to fight with, a fact Rey delighted in.

_This would be fun. Fun and cathartic._

Acolyte and First Order members alike began to move towards Rey, inching towards her like apprehensive animals. Rey stood, clearly in her mind as the dominant predator, coiling up before she struck. A First Order member made the first move and Rey internally jubilantly exhaled.

_Finally._

Metal crashed against flesh and bone, pummeling the blond First Order member before her. As she began her assault on him, another man began to creep forward, clearly trying to use the current fight as a distraction while he attacked.

_Not so fast._

Aiming for his head, Rey brought her baton swiftly across the man before her and he collapsed to his knees before she walloped him once more. The strikes stunned him, sending stars in front of his eyes, barely able to recall his own name or where he even was.

Lightning quick, Rey returned her baton to another holster on her hip, before drawing a handgun from the holster at her thigh and firing it into the approaching man. He stopped, falling to the floor as she returned the gun to the holster before reclaiming her baton, finishing off the man before her.

The remaining men began to rush at Rey, clearly enraged that she had gotten the upper hand. Mitaka let out a yelp at the sight of his fallen comrades while screaming at the remaining men to put her down.

Rey moved with an elegant, brutal grace. That was the only way to describe it. Kylo watched on as she handily and methodically dealt with every attack thrown her way. Moments slowed down in dramatic fashion to her, her senses zeroing in her surroundings before speeding back up to catch up. Her controlled breath, the men falling backwards- blood spilling from their wounds, all at a pace which allowed her to savor their fear and pain.

It was delicious.

Even as the men attempted to attack her in pairs, she remained calm and in control, switching between her batons and firearms with a composed ease. Her adrenaline spiked, her pulse thumping her in her ears while she delighted in their pain. For the first time in a long time, she was not afraid. Not afraid, but happy. She was on a high, an addictive, seductive high of power. One she never, ever wanted to stop.

Blood spattered the floors; droplets having been violently coaxed out of each and every man that dared cross her. They had to pay.

A penance.

A blood atonement.

Kylo was in absolute awe. She was gorgeous. Fierce. In control of herself. It was everything he wanted for her.

But when he drilled done to the bones of it, pushing all the showy bloodshed aside- she was reckless.

She shouldn’t even be here. She wasn’t ready for this. It was too much, too soon and he worried what it might do to her- _if_ she made it through.

Rey fought through the pack of men while swiftly moving throughout the room. Another faceless being, one that she cared nothing about managed to move behind her, attempting to sneak up and surprise her. Before Kylo could even shout her name to alert her, Rey sensed it. Rey peered over her shoulder, foiling the Acolyte’s plan. She needed to get rid of the pain in the ass in front of her quickly and the solution came to her as easy as breathing. Devoid of emotion, Rey brought her leg up and out, kicking the man before her square in the chest, sending him crashing through the window behind him, hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Whirling around while extracting her gun, she shot once, twice, three times until the Acolyte fell before her; his face frozen in horror.

Rey had made quick work of the group and now there was only two men left, Mitaka and Quinn.

The two men stood bewildered, gaping at Rey and her handiwork scattered about the room as she coolly returned her batons to the holders at her back. It lulled the two men into a false sense of security, thinking she was done.

_Stupid fucking morons._

“Ok, ok. Listen, girlie, I can get you whatever you want. What do you want? Money? Jewels? Guns? Men to warm your bed? Women? I can get it. Just calm down and I can get it.” Quinn shakily attempted to bargain.

Rey eerily cocked her head to the side and let out an exasperated sigh. “Beds already warm. Scorching.”

Without a second thought Rey seized both firearms at her thighs aiming one at each man. She squeezed the trigger firing a single shot into Quinn’s head and his body fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

Rey’s full attention along with the second firearm snapped over and focused solely on Mitaka.

“Don’t worry, he’ll live.” Rey jested, as Quinn lay clearly dead on the floor, his eyes locked in a silent scream of terror.

Mitaka let out an involuntary gasp, riddled with fear.

“Oh, stop.” She scolded. “How many are there outside? How many are there _really?”_

Mitaka could barely force out a word. For a member of the First Order, he certainly was squeamish.

“Please….” He began.

“Answer the question now and don’t lie to me.” She hissed, the latter part of the phrase slow and deliberate.

“I…I…what do you want?” he stammered.

“Now, I asked you a question. Courtesy would dictate that you answer my question before asking another one. And courtesy is so important, wouldn’t you agree?” she asked as a maniacal look spread across her face, her head cocked to one side.

“Probably four total, please…” Mitaka was abruptly silenced as a bullet zipped out of Rey’s gun and into his skull.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

Sighing, Rey returned her gun to her holster before snapping around to rush to Kylo to free him. Crouching down, she quickly pressed her lips to his before beginning to free him from his restraints. His wet hair tickled her eyelashes as she exhaled in relief that she had finally reached Kylo.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

“I’m alright. Come on, get me free. We’ve gotta get the guys downstairs before they realize something is up if they haven’t already.”

“The loading dock is far enough away, they probably didn’t hear.” Rey assured him as she swiftly cut through his binds with a small knife from her utility vest.

“One shot maybe, but you went on a shooting spree and kicked someone out a window. It’s a good bet they know we’re here.” Kylo huffed while untangling himself from the rope and binds surrounding him.

“Silencers, remember?”

What was his deal? She saved his ass and got it done. What was the attitude about? She decided she couldn’t worry about that now. There was still work to do.

Kylo stood upright and rubbed his wrists while his eyes searched for the weapons the Acolytes and First Order goons had removed from him. Luckily, they had all seemed to forget that they threw the weapons into a darkened corner of the room before interrogating Kylo. Had only one of them remembered once Rey arrived, this all could have gone very differently. Kylo rolled his shoulders back, attempting to shed the uneasy feeling off himself. He located the weapons and speedily returned them to the holsters spread against his own midnight black tactical suit.

He removed one gun, verifying it was still loaded before he turned to Rey.

“I know he said four but there is a good chance he was lying or doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Let’s play this right and for fuck’s sake, follow my lead.”

Rey simply nodded, not wanting to address the contempt dripping off each one of his words right now. They stealthily descended the stairs and worked their way to the back of the building where the loading docks were. Obscured by the dark interior of the building they were able to assess that Mitaka had been telling the truth after all. There were four men, two with each box truck.

Kylo glared at Rey and using a series of their practiced hand signals, he relayed the plan of attack. The men were lazing about and certainly were not on guard. One was smoking, while another was relieving himself. The remaining two were sitting on the dock tossing pebbles into the dark parking lot that was overgrown with weeds and debris.

Dividing and conquering, they each took two men. The silencers on both of their weapons suppressing the noise down to little more than a series of fleeting zipping sounds. Within a minute, the four men were lifeless and Rey and Kylo could move to the trucks to get the weapons.

“Oh, fuck.” Rey gritted as she spied a fresh new slice in the truck’s tires. She ran to the back of it, climbing inside the cargo area.

“What?” Kylo asked.

“We’re not going to be taking this truck. The one I shot that was smoking- the bullet went through and through and into the tire. This truck isn’t moving and these boxes in here weigh a ton. It’s going to take forever to load and unload. We don’t have the right kind of jack either to change this tire even if we found a spare. We’re fucked, these weapons aren’t coming with us.” She sighed, jumping down from the truck and heading back towards the loading dock.

“Goddamn it.” Kylo growled.

The wheels began turning in Rey’s head and suddenly she knew just what to.

“I’ve got this.” She breathed, moving around inside the loading dock, searching for what she needed.

Bingo.

A storage shelving unit filled with gas, kerosene and diesel fuel cans.

Rey smiled as she grabbed a can in each hand and headed back towards the trucks, dousing them with the liquids.

“Rey…” Kylo began.

But Rey had completely tuned him out, ignoring his objections. She knew what had to be done. She would complete this mission come hell or high water.

Kylo stood stoic, watching her and periodically coaxing her for a response to no avail.

Once each truck was saturated to her satisfaction, she pushed the shelving unit with the remaining fuel containers over, sending the liquids crashing onto the floor of the warehouse.

Jumping down from the loading dock, she approached the corpse of the goon who was smoking searching for her next item in his pockets.

“Perfect.” She breathed as her gloved fingers clasped around a lighter. Rey stood up and opened a pocket in her utility vest and fished out a small burner phone. Dialing 911 as Kylo’s eyes went wide, she pressed her index finger to her lips as the phone rang.

“There’s a fire. 100th and Blake. Tell Dameron to hurry.” Rey stated in a distraught voice that was not her own before abruptly hanging up. She dropped the phone to the ground and smashed it to bits with her heel before collecting the pieces and returning it to her vest. She would dispose of the destroyed phone properly later.

Rey turned her attention back to Kylo, flicking the lighter open and igniting it.

“Rey, what the hell are you doing?” Kylo bellowed as she tossed the lighter into the truck.

The fire caught and quickly spready to the second truck before spreading once more to the building, the fire following the lines of fuel Rey had spilled along the way.

“Problem solved.” Rey exhaled, a self-satisfied grin forming on her face. Crimson, tangerine and yellows burning brightly bathed her face in a fiery light, warming her cheeks. An image of an impossibly angry Snoke flashed in her mind; the instant when he realized his money and guns were gone. She beamed, but her good mood was cut short.

Sirens began to pierce through the night, causing them to both stiffen and realize time was ticking down.

“We’ve got to move. Now.” Kylo growled before they evaporated back into the night, a fog rolling in and out as it pleased, enveloping them into the darkness.

*

Kylo didn’t utter a single word more to Rey during their entire trek back home. He stayed just far enough ahead of her that she couldn’t catch up or start a conversation.

Kylo didn’t even crack under the intense gaze Rey hurled his way the entire length of the elevator ride once they had reached their warehouse. It wasn’t until the doors opened and they meandered onto the training level floor of the building to disarm themselves that the silence was finally broken. The air was thick with tension and Rey’s confusion was palpable as Kylo kept his back to her. Rigid, stoic and unyielding in his body language.

They began to remove their weapons and unarm themselves when Rey finally spoke.

“So, I’m thinking that next shipment and exchange they were talking about could still happen. Although, I imagine for a time they’ll be suspicious of one another but once they hear that the weapons and money were lost in the fire, they’ll realize it was a third party. The trick now is to figure out where the new meeting place will be.” Rey rattled off, trying to pivot the mood and gloss over what had just happened.

The rapid-fire chatter had no effect whatsoever on Kylo, who kept his eyes downcast, fiddling with the weapons on and before him. He turned his attention to the small remote that unlocked and opened the firearm storage cabinets, continuing to attempt to shut her out.

“So, I figure maybe we can start small, stopping some collections from the business owners the First Order leans on. Those people will begin to trust us, and we’ll have ears to the ground. Word will spread.” Rey sighed, pushing her hood back and shucking her gloves. The harsh fluorescent lights stung her eyes and she winced slightly as they adjusted without the cover of her hood.

Kylo only let out a lofty sigh before shaking his head and returning his weapons to the freshly unlocked cabinets on the wall.

“Ok, what is your problem?” Rey screeched, slamming her hands onto the metal utility table in front of her.

“You disobeyed the hold.” Kylo stilled for a moment before turning to face her and finally look into her eyes. The expression on his face was startling and chilling to say the least. His whiskey toned eyes were now almost black with anger, enraged at both her tone and her blatant defiance.

Rey’s stomach clenched and twisted. “What?”

“You disobeyed the hold.” He bellowed, pointing his index finger towards the ground repeatedly to drive his point home. Rey’s breath was stolen away, her body paralyzed by the rage radiating from him . “You changed the plans and you almost got yourself killed, Jesus Rey!”

A silent beat passed, then two…... or maybe ten. “What the hell did you just say to me?” she shot back, her voice quivering slightly.

“I told you to stay put. I was the commander of that mission and your job was to listen to me and follow my orders. You didn’t. We’re supposed to trust one another to follow the rules, the plan. You disobeyed the hold and could have been killed.”

“I did not die, if you recall.”

“You’re reckless. You clearly aren’t ready. Physically perhaps, but not mentally. Not if you can’t follow instructions. This isn’t just physical, Rey. This is mental gymnastics trying to deal with this shit. Especially after what you have been through. You can’t just go out there and explode like that. You have no idea what that will do to you. This is my fault; it was my mistake to even bring you along. My mistake to think you were ready, or to even start this whole thing. I won’t be making that mistake again.” He turned his attention back to the weapons, done with talking, done with this conversation.

“No, no! You do not get to do that! You do not get to say that to me.” Rey warned, slamming her hands into his back.

“You couldn’t even follow the simplest of instructions.” He growled, whipping around.

“Pot meet kettle! You changed the plan first. You got yourself into trouble. You could have been killed. I saved your ass. I would expect a little more appreciation. A little thanks and little less of you being a dick, quite frankly.”

“I was the commander! I can do that! I had it under control.” He ground out.

“Under control? Is that what you call it?”

“Yeah, I’ve gotten out of worse.” He narrowed his eyes at her, a futile signal to end the conversation.

“But you didn’t this time. I came in, I saved you. And by the way, don’t try that bullshit with me. This was my idea, remember? I told you I was doing this with or without you. So, don’t…”

“Doesn’t matter... you’re not going back out.” Kylo interrupted.

“What did you say?” her voice crackling with anger.

“Rey…” he warned as he unloaded a handgun before tossing it onto the metal table.

“No, no…” her tone incredulous “that’s what a team is… we are a team! You cover for one another… save one another … work together. This time I got you out of a bind, I’m sure you’ll do the same for me at some point. It’s just what teams do. It’s not the crisis you are making it out to be.”

“You can’t….” Kylo roared, now only inches from Rey’s face.

“Don’t tell me I can’t!” she screeched, pushing at his chest. “He has taken everything from me! He needs to pay for that and I’m not going to stop until he does. You want to talk about dealing with this mentally? Fine! I won’t be right mentally until I deal with this! This is the only way I’m going to get through this or over this or whatever! I have to do this in order to heal! When they had you tonight – it was just one more thing he tried to take away from me. The last good thing I have, and I will be damned if I don’t protect that with every single fiber of my being. Fuck no, he doesn’t get to just take you, too.” She shouts, hammering her fists against his chest. “He doesn’t get you too!” Tears prickle at Rey’s eyes, a dam threatening to give way and break.

Kylo exhales deeply and tries to begin to reason with her before he is interrupted by her own commanding tone.

“So no, I’m not apologizing for what I did.” She stiffens, straightens and collects herself. “Fuck that. I’d do what I did tonight again a thousand times. He doesn’t get to take you away from me. No one does.”

“You cannot risk yourself for me. You’re too important. When are you going to understand that?”

“Never... not that logic. If you need help- I’m going to help you.” Rey crosses her arms in front of her chest and shakes her head incessantly. She will not back down.

“You were supposed to listen. Keep yourself safe. What the fuck, Rey? Why are you so stubborn? If something happened to you- I couldn’t bear it.” Kylo attempts to plead.

“This is what a team is! Look and if something happened to you, what am I supposed to do, huh?” Rey questions, her hands pushing him once more. “What the hell am I supposed to do? I can’t… I won’t. I won’t be without you.”

“Not if it means putting yourself in danger.” His eyes are a mix of both begging and demanding, something entirely singular and Rey finds herself unable to tear her own eyes away from his.

“Come off it! This whole thing is nothing but danger! You knew the risks going in and now…. What? Now you change your mind? You can’t do that! You don’t get to say…... I’m fine! I will be fine…I have to do this! I need to…”

“I won’t lose someone I love!” he roars as he catches one of the hands that Rey has used to continually beat against his chest.

And the floor falls out from beneath Rey’s feet.

The air is stolen from her lungs.

A sonic pulse denotates inside her, her body vibrating with a blend of want, elation, fear and hunger.

Love.

He. Just. Said. Love.

Me.

Love. Me.

He loves me.

And instantly there is nothing else. Nothing at all that matters. Just him. His body, his lips, which she needs on and around her.

Now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspo:
> 
> Blow My Fuse - Kix  
> Closer- NIN  
> Dragula - Rob Zombie (Rey's battle sequence)  
> Down in a Hole - Alice in Chains  
> Control - Slowed down Halsey versions I found on Youtube. Some are seriously so creepy and perfect for this.


End file.
